Disney Readying Thousands of Layoffs, Division Cuts Up to 20%: Report

Posted in: Comics, Movies, TV | Tagged: disney

Disney Readying Thousands of Layoffs, Division Cuts Up to 20%: Report

Bloomberg is reporting from sources that Disney is readying for thousands of layoffs and up to 20% in cost savings across numerous divisions.

Published Mon, 02 Nov 2026 23:02:08 -0600
by Ray Flook
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Article Summary

• Bloomberg reports Disney is preparing thousands of layoffs, with some managers told to find up to 20% in cuts.
• Disney television, film, and other divisions could be hit as Josh D’Amaro pushes a major cost-cutting overhaul.
• The restructuring follows reports Disney wants TV operations rebuilt around streaming, not legacy linear brands.
• Disney says savings may be redirected into film, TV programming, technology, theme parks, and cruise expansion.

A month after Horacio Gutierrez, The Walt Disney Company's Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer, ignited a firestorm of concern throughout the company that a new wave of cuts and layoffs was on the way, The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney was readying to restructure its television operations, a move that would reportedly result in hundreds of layoffs and "the consolidation of divisions." Senior executives were reportedly developing a plan to "structure the business in a way that makes sense for streaming customers, rather than around brands created decades ago for linear television," though it could take until the end of the year to finalize. On Monday night, a Bloomberg report not only supports that reporting but also paints a darker picture of how bad this next wave could be, as Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro continues his efforts to cut costs and streamline the company's operations. 

According to sources speaking with Bloomberg (and followed up by other media outlets), managers across multiple divisions – including TV networks and film studios – are being asked, in some instances, to identify as much as 20% in annual cost savings. Although the specific target numbers and layoff counts for each division weren't known at this point, the overall impact is expected to eliminate thousands of positions. Disney did not respond to Bloomberg's reporting, and no time frame for when the layoffs could be rolled out was known. Sources say that D'Amaro is looking to reinvest the savings into film and TV programming, technology, theme parks, and cruise ship operations.

During The Walt Disney Company's quarterly earnings call with Wall Street analysts in May, D'Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston were asked by call moderator and investor relations chief Ben Swinburne if they were looking at that moment to "take a fresh look" at how the company operates and what areas had the most room for improvement. While D'Amaro spotlighted an increased focus on how AI could benefit the creative process and the company's theme parks, Johnston focused on how decisions have and could continue to impact the company directly and contribute to the company's goal of "a culture of efficiency."

"These are always difficult exercises for the organization, but let me assure you, this management team is acutely focused on this," Johnston shared. Noting that the company was eyeing a stronger financial focus on content and technology to help drive growth, Johnston said that the layoffs and other staff reductions from the previous month (which hit Marvel Studios and Marvel Entertainment particularly hard) demonstrated "a deliberate shift toward a more agile, technologically enabled and resilient workforce." As for how that could translate when it comes to additional layoffs or areas of the company feeling the hit, Johnston noted that Disney's drive to streamline and be more technologically efficient is "an ongoing exercise and a muscle we're [Disney] building."

Echoing those sentiments, Gutierrez relayed to the LGA department in September that upcoming layoffs were part of the company's "transformation process" that involved "automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies." Though AI wasn't directly referenced in the memo obtained by Deadline Hollywood, sources said the implication was in Gutierrez's messaging, with many seeing it as a harbinger of more across-the-board cuts coming sooner rather than later. Writing that he is "taking a dispassionate look at every aspect of how we do our work, so we can do it in a more efficient and cost-effective manner," Gutierrez made it clear that the LGA "will be a much smaller organization than it is today" once layoffs and administrative changes roll out.

"Obviously, this will require hard choices about where and how we deploy our resources and investments, including our staffing investments and how we work will look different in the months and years ahead," he added. "LGA will be a much smaller organization than it is today, and some of you will personally be affected by decisions we make in this process. As a result, we'll have to consider a whole range of new models for different workloads, including automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies, moving to self-service models where appropriate, engaging alternative legal providers and others, and new expanded share services, even outsourcing." As Gutierrez sees it, the move is in line with the Disney CEO's vision for the company. "Josh's vision is of a Disney that succeeds in a changing market by breaking internal walls and embracing technology to amplify what makes it great, not by clinging to the way things always have been done," he added.

Some additional points to keep in mind that from the past few weeks:

• During the same week that Gutierrez's memo hit, ex-Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand was announced as Disney's first Chief Technology Officer, reporting directly to D'Amaro.
• Previously, Disney posted a job opening for a director of AI enablement and legal engineering. The individual will "redesign legal workflows using AI systems and implement other technology-related solutions for contract review, legal research, and regulatory analysis." In addition, the individual will be responsible for evaluating "whether Disney should build AI systems internally or buy them from outside vendors, measure the return on investment for AI, and help lawyers adopt new workflows."
• In September, Marvel Comics employees faced a deadline to decide whether to move from the shuttered New York office to the Burbank, California, office, which is also home to Marvel Studios and Disney's corporate headquarters. In addition, the deadline for longtime Disney executives who qualify to take the company's voluntary early retirement offer.
• Recently, approximately 300 employees, mostly in tech and human resources, were also laid off. Heading into November, the news hit that the theme parks division was laying off between 100 and 200 people.

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