Disney is downsizing as the company reportedly faces a new round of layoffs, affecting roughly 300 people.
According to Deadline, positions impacted by the job cuts include Disney’s legal, HR, finance and communications departments. Those working in other aspects of the business like ESPN, parks and Disney Entertainment are not currently affected.
Newsweek reached out to a Disney representative via email for comment on Thursday.
“We continually evaluate ways to invest in our businesses and more effectively manage our resources and costs to fuel the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,” a Disney spokesperson told Deadline. “As part of this ongoing optimization work, we have been reviewing the cost structure for our corporate-level functions and have determined there are ways for them to operate more efficiently.”
Kent Phillips/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images
The news comes just months after Disney’s television division was hit with job cuts. In July, the media giant eliminated 140 jobs, or approximately two percent of its staff at Disney Entertainment Television. In May, Disney’s Pixar subsidiary slashed 175 of its employees, or 14 percent of staff.
Last year, Disney suffered multiple box office flops like Elemental and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It’s also been losing massive amounts of money through its Disney+ streaming service and hiked up subscription prices to keep losses to a minimum. Additionally, the brand’s theme parks are struggling post-COVID-19 pandemic, and experts said inflation pressures and wage demands from employees are among the reasons Disney is feeling the squeeze.
“The costs of running the theme park will continue to escalate, creating pressures for executives to quickly adjust and evolve their formula for growth,” Christina Curtis, founder of Curtis Leadership Consulting, previously told Newsweek. “The real challenge? How do you disperse the hourly wage increase for park employees onto paying customers who themselves are dealing with the looming threat of a recession.”
Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger returned to the company in 2022 following Bob Chapek’s dismissal. Since his return, he has cut more than 8,000 jobs to help curb $7.5 billion in costs.
During an earnings call in November, Iger spoke about the company’s film struggles in particular.
“It’s clear that the pandemic created a lot of challenges creatively for everybody, including for us,” the 73-year-old said at the time. “In addition, at the time the pandemic hit, we were leaning into a huge increase in how much we were making and I’ve always felt that quantity can be actually a negative when it comes to quality. And I think that’s exactly what happened. We lost some focus.”
“I feel really optimistic about the slate going forward, which is going to be a balance between some really strong sequels to some very, very popular titles, as well as some good original content,” he continued, before adding, “I feel good about the direction we’re headed.”
