Walt Disney is preparing to cut about 1,000 jobs in the first significant cost-cutting effort under new CEO Josh D’Amaro as the entertainment giant grapples with changing economic conditions in Hollywood.
In an email to employees on Tuesday, seen by Reuters, D’Amaro told employees that the company would be eliminating positions in several departments, citing the need for more flexible operations. “Given the rapid pace of our industries, we must continually examine how we can foster a more agile and technology-enabled workforce to meet the demands of tomorrow,” he wrote.
The layoffs will impact its recently reorganized marketing group, studio and television businesses, sports network ESPN, products and technology and a handful of corporate functions, according to a person familiar with the matter. Affected employees received notifications earlier this week.
The vote represents D’Amaro’s first major structural move since he succeeded Bob Iger in the corner office, and signals that the new boss is wasting no time putting his own stamp on the House of Mouse. That also puts Disney firmly on the side of its competitors: Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance have both taken the ax on headcount in recent months, as the legacy Hollywood majors face the same unforgiving combination of a weakening linear TV market, sluggish box office returns and increasing competition for viewers’ attention and wallets.
It’s the biggest round of cuts for Disney since 2023, when the company announced around 7,000 layoffs as part of a sweeping $5.5 billion (£4.2 billion) cost-cutting drive. That earlier action was launched under pressure from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who had pushed for stricter financial discipline and a credible path to profitability for the group’s loss-making streaming division.
With a global workforce of around 231,000 at the end of the last fiscal year in September, the latest decline is relatively modest, affecting well under half a percent of the total workforce. But the symbolism is hard to miss. By simultaneously targeting marketing, studio, television and ESPN, D’Amaro is effectively signaling to Wall Street that no corner of the empire is spiraling out of control as management seeks leaner operations and quicker decision-making.
The job losses were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
