Walt Disney Implements Second Round Of Layoffs, Eliminating 'Several Thousand' Jobs

Walt Disney Co, a global entertainment giant, is reportedly set to implement another round of layoffs on monday.

Disney is set to initiate a second round of workforce reductions resulting in the elimination of thousands of jobs. This move is part of the company's ongoing efforts to reduce 7,000 positions and achieve cost savings of $5.5 billion.

The job cuts are expected to continue until Thursday, with several thousand more positions being affected, bringing the total number of job reductions to 4,000, according to Disney officials.

The company is set for yet another round of layoff in various business segments, including ESPN, Disney Entertainment and Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. However, it is anticipated that these cuts will not impact the hourly frontline workers who are employed at the parks and resorts.

According to an internal memo obtained by Reuters, the distribution of layoff notifications will persist throughout the upcoming days.

"The senior leadership teams have been working diligently to define our future organisation, and our biggest priority has been getting this right, rather than getting it done fast," Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, the co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment, wrote the memo to the staff.

"We recognise that it has been a period of uncertainty and thank you all for your understanding and patience," they said.

Disney unveiled its layoff plan in February along with a restructure that gave its creative executives back control of decision-making. It wants to develop a business strategy that is more organised.

Since the early adoption of video streaming, when traditional media businesses lost billions as they built rivals to Netflix Inc., the entertainment sector has made cuts.

When Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in a decade at the beginning of 2022, media businesses started to cut back on investment as Wall Street started to put profitability over customer growth.

Disney commenced the process of informing employees impacted by the reduction in workforce on March 27. Additionally, they revealed plans for a larger round of reductions scheduled for April, with expectations of a third round taking place prior to the commencement of summer.