The California-based Walt Disney Company today informed employees that it will begin laying off several hundred employees worldwide. This decision follows their multimillion dollar, year-long efforts to reduce expenses. This decision comes on the heels of the stronger-than-expected earnings announced in May. The company did a great job spinning up overall revenue of $23.6 billion for the first three months of the year.
Despite that rosy fiscal picture, Disney’s new chief executive, Bob Iger, wants to cut $5.5 billion in costs—starting with these layoffs. This reduction follows earlier announcements in 2023, which included the termination of 7,000 workers as part of a broader restructuring strategy. More than half the jobs eliminated in this latest round of layoffs will be from Disney’s film, television and finance departments.
Disney box office performance has hit notable highs with recent releases. The new animated film that opened in May has crossed $610 million in worldwide ticket sales. Notable releases this year include “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Snow White,” both of which have contributed to the company’s revenue growth. Perhaps surprisingly, Disney’s revenue for this quarter is up about 7% from the same quarter last year.
“As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fueling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney.”
The company’s workforce now consists of about 233,000 people, with about 60,000 workers deployed abroad. Disney is carrying out more layoffs in a “surgical” manner. This new comprehensive approach seeks to limit the hurt to its workers in this necessary and difficult transition.
“We have been surgical in our approach to minimize the number of impacted employees,” – Disney spokesperson