Disney announces 7,000 new layoffs in an effort to save billions
Brady Knox
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Disney announced that it would lay off 7,000 employees amid financial concerns and legal battles with Florida’s Republican government.
Bob Iger, the company’s chief executive officer, announced the decision in a Wednesday earnings call, ABC News reported. The layoffs are part of a planned $5.5 billion effort in cost savings. The layoffs represent roughly 3% of Disney’s 220,000 global employees.
“This reorganization will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated, and streamlined approach to our operations,” Iger said. “I do not make this decision lightly.”
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Disney now joins the likes of Warner Bros. Discovery, Dotdash Meredith, and Vox Media as media companies that have carried out similar layoffs recently.
The job cuts had been expected prior to Iger’s announcement. Jessica Reif Ehrlich, a Bank of America analyst, told ABC News that she expected Disney’s CEO to announce the layoffs on the call.
“There’s nothing worse than anyone wondering whether they’ll have a job or not,” Ehrlich said. “There’s nothing worse than people walking around saying, ‘What are you hearing?’ ‘What are you hearing?'”
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Iger retook the helm at Disney in November after the company began suffering from increasing financial woes. Its streaming service, Disney+, particularly suffered, losing an estimated 2.4 million subscribers last year.