This week, Disney will implement the second and greatest round of layoffs as part of the media conglomerate’s previously disclosed intention to reduce its staff by 7,000 people. This round will affect workers across the organisation and will involve the termination of several thousand employees.
As part of a wider staff reduction plan that was revealed in Feb by chief executive Bob Iger, the most recent round of job losses will touch ESPN, Disney’s entertainment splitting, Disney Parks, and the firm’s Experiences and Product division. According to the corporation, the goal of this round of job cutbacks is to save the company $5.5 billion in expenses. During the epidemic, the firm had to temporarily halt its dividend payments; nevertheless, Iger stated in February that he anticipates that they would resume in the near future.
According to Disney, the layoffs are scheduled to take place this week from Monday through Thursday and will effect employees located all around the country. The greatest round of layoffs follows an earlier wave that occurred a month ago. According to the firm, this will bring the overall amount of positions lost throughout the organisation to 4,000. However, it is not anticipated that hourly frontline staff working at Disney’s theme parks and resorts would be affected by the layoffs.
According to the announcement made by the firm, the total number of layoffs is projected to reach 7,000 before the beginning of summer. This will be the third and last round of layoffs. As of the first of October, Disney had roughly 220,000 employees, of which approximately 166,000 were working in the United States. A reduction of 7,000 jobs, or around 3% of the total workforce, will be eliminated.
Iger stated same sentiments to the workers in a message that was sent out a month ago. “The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,” Iger said. “When things get difficult, we have to always do what needs to be done to ensure that Disney can continue to deliver exceptional entertainment to audiences and guests all over the world – both now and for a very long time into the future.”
After Iger’s return to Disney in November, the company’s board of directors decided to dismiss Bob Chapek as the company’s head, which led to the layoffs.