CEO Bob Iger Announces 7,000 Jobs Will Be CUT at Disney

Today, Disney has their Q1 earnings call.

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There were many things we expected the company to discuss, including the hiring freeze that former CEO Bob Chapek mentioned back in early November. Once Iger replaced Chapek as Disney’s CEO, he mentioned the hiring freeze would continue, but we really haven’t heard anything since. Today, we’ve got an update on Disney’s workforce.

The initial hiring freeze announcement came after a disappointing Q4 earnings call and was announced to save money in parts of the company.

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We listened in on the Q1 earnings call to hear what Iger’s update is on the hiring freeze and staff reductions that were anticipated to accompany it. During the call, there were plenty talks about “reorganization” and how they are beginning a company-wide cost reduction plan. We learned that the workforce will be reduced by roughly 7,000 jobs. Disney stated that they “did not make this decision lightly” and they recognize the massive impact this change will have.

When Chapek originally announced the hiring freeze and job cuts, Chapek indicated that Disney would be “limiting headcount additions through a targeted hiring freeze” and that the changes were being made “against a backdrop of economic uncertainty that all companies and our industry are contending with.”

Iger previously mentioned that he realizes this is “a challenging time for everyone involved” and that the company “will remain resilient.”

Note that the 7,000 job cuts will include some open positions that have yet to be filled, so not all of the cuts will involve laying off current employees.

And that’s all that Disney has announced for now. We’ll be sure to stay updated on these developments and how they’ll affect the company, so stay tuned to AllEars.