Now you see it, now you don’t. Disney is eliminating its entire metaverse division as part of the impending mass layoffs destined to impact as many as 7,000 employees, a report Monday claims.
The Wall Street Journal set out the nature of the sackings that will see just division head Mike White remain in what was once hailed as its “next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences unit.”
The metaverse team, per WSJ, was tasked with “finding ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property.”
It employed approximately 50 people, all of whom have been let go with immediate effect, according to the WSJ.
The move comes just over a year after Disney created the division under former CEO Bob Chapek.
File/Disney CEO Bob Chapek answers a question during an address at the Boston College Chief Executives Club, on Nov. 15, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
In February 2022, in a memo to employees, Chapek wrote the team would “create an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories.”
Chapek was ousted as CEO in November 2022, following a rough year in the job that among other things included a company revolt over the way Disney responded to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law.
He spent two years in the top job during a period that saw Wall Street concerned about rising expenses at the company. Disney’s stock fell 41 percent in the 12 months before Chapek’s departure.
According to the WSJ report, the entire program has been scrapped.
The end of the Metaverse division came on the same day Disney began layoffs focused across television production and acquisitions as the company’s freefall in the marketplace continues, as Breitbart News reported.