 "Walt Disney Co")
Walt Disney Co (Photo: Bloomberg)
Disney has announced a new round of job cuts as part of its cost-reduction strategy in the US, according to a report by Deadline.
The report mentioned that around 300 employees are affected by this latest wave of layoffs, and this number is likely to go up. The job losses primarily involve positions within Disney’s corporate sectors, including legal, human resources, finance, and communications.
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The report noted that employees in other areas of the company, such as ESPN, parks, and Disney Entertainment, are not currently impacted by these cuts.
The report quoted a Disney spokesperson as saying, “We continually evaluate ways to invest in our businesses and more effectively manage our resources and costs to fuel the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney.”
The spokesperson said the company has been evaluating the cost structure of its corporate functions and identified opportunities for them to operate more effectively.
This announcement follows Disney’s recent reduction in its television division, where it cut 140 jobs, representing about 2 per cent of the workforce at Disney Entertainment Television. Additionally, in May, Disney’s Pixar subsidiary laid off 175 employees, amounting to 14 per cent of its staff.
Declining profits
The Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted Disney, leading the company to endure several box office disappointments, including Elemental and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Although Disney+ introduced price increases in an effort to mitigate losses, this strategy has not been particularly successful. Furthermore, the brand’s theme parks continue to face challenges in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pressures of high inflation.
Since his return in 2022, Disney CEO Bob Iger has cut over 8,000 positions as part of an effort to reduce costs by $7.5 billion.
First Published: Sep 27 2024 | 2:51 PM IST
