Disney is cutting its workforce again.
Josh D’Amaro has overseen repeated layoffs since taking over as CEO from Bob Iger in March, with Disney targeting different parts of the company as it continues a broader cost-cutting push.
The latest round is now hitting corporate teams.
Disney Cuts Hundreds More Jobs
Disney is eliminating several hundred positions in a new round of layoffs, with technology and human resources among the departments most heavily affected (via Deadline).
The cuts are smaller than the company’s previous rounds this year and are concentrated largely in shared corporate functions.
Disney Entertainment Television is reportedly unaffected by the latest reductions, while the company’s motion picture studio is also outside the scope of this round.
The layoffs mark another major workforce reduction under D’Amaro.
Disney eliminated roughly 1,000 positions in April, with marketing teams across its studios, television networks, ESPN, product and technology, and corporate operations among those affected.
Several hundred more jobs were cut in July.
Pixar was heavily affected across production and operations, while National Geographic saw significant reductions within Disney Entertainment Television. ESPN also cut staff as it integrated NFL Network.
September’s round extends those reductions further into Disney’s corporate structure.
It also comes as Disney’s Legal and Global Affairs division prepares for separate staffing changes.
Chief legal and global affairs officer Horacio Gutierrez recently told employees that the division would become “a much smaller organization.”
His September 18 memo outlined plans to automate certain workflows, introduce more self service systems, outsource some work, and increase the use of alternative legal providers.
Gutierrez said those changes would require “hard choices” around staffing and investment.
More Cost-Cutting Under D’Amaro
Disney has already indicated that further savings are being pursued.
In August, D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston told shareholders that the company remained focused on reducing costs, including possible cuts to labor and selling, general, and administrative expenses.
Disney said it remained “mid-stream in this work.”
The company has also offered voluntary early retirement packages to some longtime employees aged 50 or older who hold at least director-level positions and have spent 10 or more years at Disney.
The latest layoffs come shortly after the cooling-off period for that offer ended.
D’Amaro inherited a major cost-cutting drive from Iger, who oversaw thousands of job reductions after returning as CEO in 2022.
Disney ultimately increased its broader savings target to $7.5 billion, covering lower content spending alongside SG&A and other operating expenses.
Those efforts have continued into D’Amaro’s tenure.
Less than seven months after he took over, Disney has already carried out multiple rounds of layoffs across marketing, Pixar, National Geographic, ESPN, technology, human resources, and other corporate operations.
The latest cuts make clear that the company’s workforce reductions are still ongoing.
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