Disney Expected to Lay Off as Many as 1,000 Employees

Disney is expected to lay off as many as 1,000 employees through role eliminations in the coming months, Variety has learned. Many of the cuts are expected to come from the media giant’s marketing department.

Disney declined to comment. The decision to cut from the company’s overall workforce of 231,000 full- and part-time employees comes as Josh D’Amaro takes the reins of Disney as CEO. D’Amaro, who was previously the chairman of Disney Experiences, was selected as former CEO Bob Iger’s replacement in early February. Disney’s 10 board members, along with Iger, voted unanimously to appoint D’Aramo as CEO. He officially took over on March 18.

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Disney is the latest entertainment giant to seek a workforce reduction in the face of uncertainty in the near-term economic future given the war with Iran, rising oil prices and other issues. Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed that the studio plans to cut hundreds of positions.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report Disney’s layoff plan. The company last faced large-scale staff cuts in 2023, after Iger returned for his second stint as CEO, when the company cut some 7,000 positions. About 76% of Disney’s global workforce is full-time; about 172,000 of them work in the U.S.

D’Amaro began his career in 1998 at Disneyland. He’s held a range of business, marketing and operations positions during his tenure with the Mouse House, including CFO of Disney Consumer Products Global Licensing, president of Disneyland Resort and president of Walt Disney World Resort. He was promoted to head of Disney parks and cruises, consumer products and Walt Disney Imagineering in May 2020.