NEWS: Layoffs Hit the Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company went through some major restructuring in 2023, and unfortunately, that meant around 7,000 layoffs across various departments.

The last major layoffs took place in 2023, with Pixar terminating around 14% of its workforce earlier this year. Now, even more Disney employees have been laid off from the company — here’s what we know.

According to Variety, Disney laid off approximately 140 employees in its television division Wednesday. Around 2% of Disney’s total workforce was let go in the downsizing.

National Geographic, Freeform, locally owned television stations and the network’s marketing and publicity teams are the departments primarily impacted by the job cuts.

The largest reduction in staff will hit Nat Geo, with 13% of the team — or 60 employees — being let go. Disney had previously acquired the brand when it bought 21st Century Fox in 2019 for $71 billion.

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During a company earnings call in early 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors that the company plans $5.5 billion in cost-cutting, starting with 7,000 job cuts. The layoffs would cover about 30% of the cost-cutting, with marketing making up 50% of the cuts, and the remaining 20% in tech, procurement, and other expenses.

These layoffs were part of the massive restructuring of the Walt Disney Company, which included reorganizing into three divisions: Disney Entertainment; ESPN; and Parks, Experiences, and Products.

When the job cuts were first announced, Iger said, “We have made the difficult decision to reduce our overall workforce by approximately 7,000 jobs as part of a strategic realignment of the company, including important cost-saving measures necessary for creating a more effective, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our business.”

©Disney

This decision isn’t too shocking, as streaming has long been touted as Iger’s biggest priority within the company. Disney is working toward making its streaming business profitable by the end of fiscal year 2024. It has done a few things to accomplish that, like cracking down on password sharing and introducing ads.