Disney completed its third round of mass layoffs last Friday ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with no fairytale ending for 7,000 workers sent to the exits at the besieged company.
Variety confirmed the target was to conclude these companywide layoffs, which focused most heavily on the media divisions and left the parks largely untouched, ahead of the busy summer season.
The 7,000 layoffs — which represent 3.2 percent of Disney’s total headcount of about 220,000 worldwide as of Oct. 1, 2022 — are part of Disney’s efforts to achieve about $5.5 billion in cost savings.
The Walt Disney Co. went woke and now it is paying the consequences, with employees bracing for a bloodbath. https://t.co/JDVoFCzH0Y
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 8, 2023
As Breitbart News reported, inbound CEO Bob Iger committed to reducing the Walt Disney Company’s massive debt by laying off as many “cast members” as possible as a way of reducing overheads.
The company still has plans to eliminate more roles internationally over a period of time, according to a source close to the situation, but Variety reports Disney has now concluded the benchmark it set in February, soon after Iger’s return as CEO on the ousting of Bob Chapek.
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Iger introduced the sweeping a cost-cutting strategy with the first round of staff reductions begun March 27. The second wave, which brought Disney’s total to 4,000 cuts, hit the week of April 24, and the third and final concluded May 26.
Disney is aiming for an annualized reduction of $3 billion in non-sports content costs, expected to be realized over the next several years.