The bloodletting has begun. In February, Disney CEO Bob Iger promised shareholders that there would be 7,000 layoffs coming to the Walt Disney Company. And just this week, Iger began delivering on his promise. The layoffs started by getting rid of some of the remainder ideas of former CEO Bob Chapek, including laying off the entire metaverse division.
Most layoffs were focused on productions and acquisitions at the Walt Disney Company, but the purge also saw several high-level executives lose their jobs. Jayne Bieber, senior VP of production at Freeform/Onyx, Mark Levenstein, head of production and postproduction at Hulu, and Elizabeth Newman, head of Disney’s acquisitions department, were among the notable names let go.
Jeffrey R. Epstein, who was responsible for creating D23, the ultimate Disney Fan Club, was also let go. And just today, Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac Perlmutter has been fired. Iger has a personal beef with Perlmutter, as he tried to shake up the Disney Board and backed investor Nelson Peltz’s proxy war for a seat on the Disney Board of Directors.
This comes just days before Iger’s April 3 earnings call with investors. In February, Iger said that cutting these positions would save the company nearly $5.5 billion. But now, it appears as though Iger may have some more good news for Disney Investors.
Forbes is reporting that Disney’s least popular Park, Disneyland Paris, is reporting that it saw $2.6 billion in revenue during the fiscal year ending September 2022. This is an incredible revelation, as since it opened in 1992, the Park has rarely made a profit. After operating costs, Disneyland Paris made $51 million last year.
Like all Theme Parks across the globe, Disneyland Paris saw a drastic decrease in attendance in 2020 due to Covid lockdowns. But with the opening of a new Marvel Campus last year, attendance at the Park skyrocketed.
Disneyland Paris is unusual for a Disney Park. It is not entirely owned by the Walt Disney Company. In the 1990s when the Park was being built, Disney entered into a public/private partnership in order to get the 5,500 acres to build the Park. This is part of the reason why we know the exact revenues for that one Park.
Forbes also reported that Disney Cast Members saw an increase of 30.8% in total pay from 2021 to 2022. Part of that increase came from the massive number of Cast Members Disney had to hire in order to accommodate the increase in attendance. Disneyland Paris is the largest single-site employer in the Paris region of France.
With Disney’s least popular Park making that kind of revenue, one can only imagine how much Walt Disney World in Orlando or Disneyland in California makes in a given year.
What we do know is that the layoffs have begun as a cost-saving measure for the Walt Disney Company and we’ll find out more on April 3 when Disney CEO Bob Iger talks to Wall Street.
We will keep you updated on this story at Disney Fanatic.
