Not So Magical: Disney Near the Bottom Of American Companies To Work For

It’s no secret that 2023 was not a great year for the Walt Disney Company. From film flops to diminishing attendance at Walt Disney World to various lawsuits, Disney was happy to see the calendar turnover.

However, one of the most overlooked aspects of Disney’s terrible year was the issues it had with its employees and cast members. But now, those issues are taking center stage as Disney ranks near the bottom for places to work.

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Forbes Magazine released its list of America’s Best Companies to Work For, and Disney has dropped to the bottom third of the list. Out of 600 large companies, the Walt Disney Company ranked 419, in the bottom third.

Forbes spoke with 170,000 employees who worked for companies with more than 5,000 employees. The employees were asked to rate their employer based on their experience working for them and how likely they would be to recommend their employer to someone else.

The best company to work for was a biotechnology company, Novo Nordisk, in New Jersey. The top five were Garmin, Cook Children’s Health Care System in Texas, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Delta Airlines.

All the way down at 419 was the Walt Disney Company, which was listed as having 166,000 employees in the United States.

Employee/Cast Member issues

The Walt Disney Company found itself at odds with employees across all divisions last year. In Hollywood, Disney’s actors and writers were on strike for months, putting a hold on producing new films and television shows.

However, while the actors and writers eventually settled on a contract, Disney theme park workers also struggled to agree with the Walt Disney Company.

In Central Florida, cast members at the Walt Disney World Resort took to the streets around Disney World to protest low wages. The Disney workers and the company eventually agreed to raise the minimum salary for a cast member to $18 an hour, with a raise coming every year until it hit $20.

At the Disneyland Resort in Southern California, a cast member lawsuit claimed that Disney violated the state’s Living Wage Law. Disney eventually settled that lawsuit, paid the cast members back wages, and raised their salaries.

However, the most disheartening event last year for Disney employees was the layoffs of more than 7,000 employees. Disney CEO Bob Iger told an earnings call that the layoffs were part of a cost-saving measure, eventually saving the company more than $7 billion.

These issues with employees clearly took their toll on Disney and its ranking on the Forbes list. On the 2023 list, Disney ranked 173 but dropped 246 slots this year. This wasn’t the culture change Iger sought when he returned in 2022.

What do you think about Disney dropping to the bottom third of the Forbes list? Let us know in the comments.