Disney plans layoffs of as many as 1,000 employees
#Disney layoffs #Josh D'Amaro #cost cutting #marketing department #Bob Iger #corporate restructuring #CEO transition
📌 Key Takeaways
- Disney plans up to 1,000 layoffs as part of a new cost-cutting initiative.
- The job cuts will primarily affect the recently consolidated marketing department.
- The move occurs under new CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over in mid-March.
- This continues a broader restructuring and $5.5 billion cost-saving plan launched under former CEO Bob Iger.
📖 Full Retelling
The Walt Disney Company, under new CEO Josh D'Amaro, is planning to initiate a new phase of cost-cutting measures that will include up to 1,000 layoffs, primarily within its recently consolidated marketing department, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. This strategic move, occurring in the United States shortly after D'Amaro assumed leadership in mid-March, is part of an ongoing corporate effort to streamline operations and improve financial performance following a period of restructuring.
The layoffs are expected to disproportionately affect the marketing division, which was brought under a single leader, Asad Ayaz, for the first time in company history in January. Ayaz, who holds the title of chief marketing and brand officer, reports directly to CEO D'Amaro and President Dana Walden, overseeing all marketing across Disney's entertainment, experiences, and sports segments. This consolidation, initiated under former CEO Bob Iger, created the organizational framework that now allows for these targeted workforce reductions as part of broader efficiency goals.
This latest round of job cuts represents a continuation of a significant turnaround plan launched by Iger after he returned to the CEO role in late 2022. At that time, Disney faced falling stock prices and missed earnings expectations. By February 2023, the company had announced a sweeping reorganization aimed at cutting $5.5 billion in costs, which included the elimination of 7,000 positions. D'Amaro, who previously chaired Disney Experiences, has acknowledged that Iger's work fortified the business, setting a foundation for what he described as operating 'from a place of strength' with opportunities for future growth, even as these new efficiency measures are implemented.
🏷️ Themes
Corporate Restructuring, Workforce Reduction, Leadership Transition
📚 Related People & Topics
Bob Iger
American media executive (born 1951)
Robert Alan Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American media executive who is chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company. He previously was the president of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) between 1994 and 1995 and president and chief operating officer (COO) of Capital Citi...
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The Walt Disney Company
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Original Source
In this article DIS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the "Festival of Fantasy" parade at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022. Octavio Jones | Reuters Disney is planning to begin its next phase of cost cutting, which will include as many as 1,000 layoffs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The cost-cutting initiative comes shortly after Josh D'Amaro took the helm as CEO in mid-March. The layoffs are expected to mostly affect Disney's marketing department, according to the person, who requested to speak anonymously because the moves had not yet been made public. That department was recently consolidated under Asad Ayaz, who was named chief marketing and brand officer in January. Ayaz, who reports directly to D'Amaro and Dana Walden, Disney's president and chief creative officer, oversees marketing for all of Disney's divisions — entertainment, experiences and sports — in the newly created role. It's the first time that Disney brought all of its units under one marketing chief. Disney's stock was slightly down in early trading on Thursday. The layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal . The changes to the marketing department structure occurred in January, when Bob Iger was still CEO of the company. Disney announced shortly after that that D'Amaro would take take over the top job — a long-awaited decision for the company. D'Amaro, who had previously served as chairman of Disney Experiences, succeeded Iger after a period of uncertainty for the media and theme park giant — which had included a succession race and recent reorganization and turnaround of the business. Iger reclaimed the Disney CEO role in late 2022, about two years after his initial departure. He was immediately tasked with a turnaround of the business as its stock price had fallen and earnings began to miss expectations. By February 2023, Disney had announced sweeping plans that reorganized ...
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