Returning CEO Bob Iger made it clear that there were going to be major layoffs in the amount of around 7,000 employees of The Walt Disney Company, and a new report suggests Mouse House executives are getting ready for the first round of unloading.
According to a new report from Business Insider, “Disney executives are being directed to identify thousands of layoff candidates by April.”
EXCLUSIVE: Disney executives are being directed to identify thousands of layoff candidates by April as CEO Bob Iger targets $5.5 billion in spending cuts $DIS https://t.co/9UYC5Or35p via @businessinsider
— Claire Atkinson – Subscribe to The Media Mix (@claireatki) March 17, 2023
Related: Here’s How Disney’s Layoffs Are Going to Affect the Disney Parks
Disney representatives declined to comment. However, it appears that the list of layoff-prone employees will be a part of executives’ overall requirement to deliver budget-cutting measures as the company as a whole looks to cut costs by $5.5 billion.
It should be noted that while Disney execs set the goal of killing 7,000 jobs, at least 4,000 of that number are expected to come from currently occupied positions while the rest are taken from currently open positions. It is unclear at this time how Disney leaders will look to execute the layoffs, whether the list will be taken care of in one clean swoop, or if the firing will manifest in waves throughout the year.
Disney representatives declined to comment.
The Walt Disney Company will host its Annual Meeting of the Shareholders will take place on April 3. Only time will tell if more information about the layoffs and the overall cost savings push announced at the previous quarterly earnings webcast and to be led in part by CFO Christine McCarthy will be shared. It is also unclear how the union disputes and the return to office refusals will affect the executives’ employment decisions.
2023 is set to be an interesting year, as the layoffs and cost cuts to TV and film production are also paired with massive restructuring, the return of the shareholder dividend, and the supposed continued expansion in Disney Theme Parks by Walt Disney Imagineering.
We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on this story as more developments come to light.