Disney laid off around 300 employees Tuesday, with most of the cuts hitting its human resources and technology teams. It’s the latest round of Disney layoffs under CEO Josh D’Amaro, who replaced Bob Iger in March.
This round spared Disney’s TV division and movie studio, but TV may not be safe for long. Disney’s legal and global affairs division is also bracing for cuts. Its leader, Horacio Gutierrez, warned of “hard choices” in a September memo, saying the division would shrink significantly.
Early Retirement Offer Came First
The cuts follow a voluntary early retirement offer that Disney rolled out for longtime executives in August. It covered U.S.-based directors through executive vice presidents at Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and the corporate division. To qualify, executives had to be at least 50 years old with 10 or more years at Disney. Their age and years of service also had to add up to at least 65. Contract employees weren’t eligible, which left out most of the company’s top executives.
The package included up to a year of severance pay, continued equity vesting, and healthcare support. Retirees also keep their Silver Pass access to the Disney parks, and there’s no non-compete clause. That means executives who took the deal can start a new job and still collect their payments. The sign-up window closed over the weekend, and Deadline noted that offers like this usually signal mandatory cuts.
TV Restructuring Could Bring More Cuts
More cuts appear to be coming, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. Disney is reportedly planning a major overhaul of its TV business that could eliminate hundreds more jobs. Disney Entertainment Television Chairman Debra OConnell is leading the plan, which centers the business around streaming instead of TV brands. It’s expected to affect executives at ABC, 20th Television, Hulu, and Freeform, while ABC News also faces layoffs. The company reportedly waited to see how many executives retired early before moving ahead with parts of the plan.
Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden called the layoffs “extremely painful” at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference Thursday. She said Disney needs to work as one TV business instead of separate silos, which meant rethinking its staff size. Walden also pushed back on the idea that Disney is leading the industry in job cuts. She said Disney isn’t “the company that is going to be the tip of the spear” right now.
Part of a Bigger Shake-Up
This year’s cuts started in April, when Disney announced plans to eliminate up to 1,000 marketing roles. More layoffs followed in July at Pixar, National Geographic, ESPN, and other divisions. The moves are part of D’Amaro’s “One Disney” strategy, which links the company’s films, streaming, parks, products, gaming, and sports. The cuts come even as the Experiences segment, which includes parks and cruises, recently posted record revenue of $10 billion. None of the reports mention theme park Cast Members being affected by the latest cuts.
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