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State Reps Worried Disney Layoffs Will Stress Florida’s Unemployment Resources

disney layoffs florida unemployment

The Disney layoffs have been the talk of the town since they were announced in February of this year. During the February 8 earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that the Walt Disney Company would be implementing substantial staff reductions, estimated to affect approximately 7,000 employees. The scale of these layoffs has provoked some criticism, with certain parties mocking Disney’s actions.

Bob Iger in his office

Bob Iger in his office / Credit: Hollywood Reporter

Related: Disney Cuts Entire Chapek-Era Division as Layoffs Begin

Just over the last few days, we’ve heard of some shocking announcements, from Disney shutting down its Chapek-era divisions to firing some of the most prominent executives.

Gary Kaltbaum, FOX News Business contributor, shared about the layoffs, “It’s just companies right now dealing with what’s going on on the ground. How many people do we have? Do we have too many? What about departments as a whole? Do we need to get rid of certain departments?”

The Walt Disney Company

Studio Watertower 2015 / Courtesy of Disney

Disney has mentioned before that it’s unlikely that Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members will be affected by these layoffs, and at the moment, it’s not clear how many Floridians will be affected by it. However, Orlando State Representative Anna Eskamani has expressed concern that the layoffs could lay undue stress on Florida’s unemployment resources, particularly recalling the pandemic.

As reported by Fox35 Orlando, Eskamani said, “The state’s unemployment system is not even able to handle small unemployment levels, let alone large. We continue to get emails from constituents from across the state of Florida who are experiencing delays with the unemployment system.”

Fantasyland Magic Kingdom

Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Disney

Eskamani added, “funding was allocated to improve the Department of Economic Opportunity’s website in 2021, but those changes will not take effect until 2024 at the earliest.” While this is a worrisome turn of events if many in Florida are affected by Disney’s layoffs, at the moment, it’s unknown how many will be impacted, so one can still hope for the best possible outcome in an already fraught situation.

Stay tuned to Disney Fanatic for the latest news.

About Priyanka Kumar

Priyanka is a writer, artist, avid reader, and travel enthusiast based in Chicago. In her free time, she is probably walking by the lake, catching up on the latest releases on TV, or spending inordinate amounts of time rewatching Moana, Encanto, and her Disney Channel life-long favorites Zack and Cody wreak havoc on the Tipton.

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