Fired Executive Claims Out of Control Spending Led to Disney Job Cuts

Disney is one of the biggest media companies that exist in the world, and it’s no secret that it takes a lot of moving parts to keep it running.

But lately, we’ve been gaining more insight as to how the sausage gets made — and it’s been a doozy. After Disney announced 7,000 job cuts would be coming, we’ve seen the first waves of layoffs come, including a particular executive who didn’t get along so well with CEO Bob Iger. Now, that executive is sharing his side.

We previously shared that Disney had laid off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter. Perlmutter was told over the phone that Marvel Entertainment (a small division centered on consumer products and run separately from Marvel Studios) was redundant and would be absorbed into other parts of the company.

To refresh your memory, Perlmutter was recently pushing to get activist investor Nelson Peltz hired to the board of directors for The Walt Disney Company. Perlmutter contacted Disney board members and executives six times over the past year trying to get Peltz hired. When that was rebuffed, Peltz began his own campaign that officially ended back in February when Bob Iger revealed new cost-cutting objectives for the company.

Perlmutter had feuded with both Bob Iger and Kevin Feige in the past over costs associated with producing Doctor Strange. Iger was then involved in the decision to take away oversight of Marvel moviemaking from Perlmutter.

Now, after his layoff, Perlmutter says he was fired from Disney “because he pushed Disney too aggressively to cut costs and ran afoul of the creative executives whom newly returned Chief Executive Robert Iger wants to empower.”

The former executive expressed his dismay in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, saying that he had tried to convince Disney to spend less on Marvel Studios movies as they are “too long and too expensive to produce.”

“I have no doubt that my termination was based on fundamental differences in business between my thinking and Disney leadership, because I care about return on investment,” Perlmutter said.

In his opinion, Disney and Marvel’s leadership are singularly focused on ticket sales, when they should be worried about “the bottom line.” Marvel movies have grossed more than $23 billion worldwide which makes it one of the most successful film franchises in history.

As Marvel Entertainment chairman, Perlmutter was responsible for comic-book publishing and merchandise-licensing businesses.

A Disney spokesperson shared that when Perlmutter was informed of his termination, he was told it was due to the company’s $5.5 billion spending cuts and 7,000 job cuts. But according to Perlmutter, that’s not the case.

“It was merely a convenient excuse to get rid of a longtime executive who dared to challenge the company’s way of doing business,” he said.

When the battle for Disney’s board began, Ike Perlmutter spoke out in support of his friend Nelson Peltz, who was trying to lobby his way onto the board. Perlmutter believed that “Disney executives had proven unreceptive to his suggestions,” and Peltz’s bid for the board was a hail mary to get them to listen.

“My experience with any major corporation, when they’re having problems and they don’t have the free cash or whatever it is, usually people like Nelson Peltz know how to put it back on track,” Perlmutter stated. “I learned one thing about creative people my whole life: You cannot give them an open credit card… They’re doing this for 30 years, why would they change?”

This isn’t the first time Perlmutter and Disney execs have butted heads. In 2015, Iger removed Perlmutter as head of Marvel Studios after a disagreement over movie budgets.

In an interview with CNBC, CEO Bob Iger said Perlmutter “was intent on firing Kevin Feige” — current president of Marvel Studios — but Iger “stepped in to prevent that from happening.” Perlmutter says the disagreement was about movie budgets and says he wasn’t trying to get Feige fired.

His access to Marvel film financial statements was allegedly cut off in 2021, and in October, Perlmutter requested financial information on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — which he never got.

He also raised concerns with then-CEO Bob Chapek about “out of control” spending on Marvel movies. According to Perlmutter, Chapek agreed but argued he didn’t have the ability to change anything as plans had “already been approved by senior management.”

“There was no way to force the issue because the creative people at the Walt Disney Company are very powerful,” Perlmutter said.

Not only that, but Perlmutter shared his frustrations about Disney’s involvement in politics, specifically about the battle for Reedy Creek with Governor Ron DeSantis. He reportedly advised Disney executives not to get involved, saying, “Don’t get involved in politics. You’re going to get hurt. It’s a no-win situation.”

Disney’s official position is that Perlmutter was let go as part of the company’s $5.5 billion in spending cuts, but it’s clear he doesn’t see it that way.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the layoffs at Disney and our thoughts are with those who have been affected. Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news.

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What do you think of the latest Disney changes? Tell us in the comments.

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