Due to the current global pandemic forcing the temporary park closures, Disney had to make the unfortunate decision to furlough several Walt Disney World Cast Members.
Related: No, Not Every Disney World Employee Got Laid Off: CM and Staff Status During Park Closure
This has been a tough time on a lot of people, and many have been struggling but now, Walt Disney World has just begun emailing Cast Members to notify them that the furlough period will, unfortunately, be extended.
Many Cast Members have taken to Twitter to discuss the recently sent email. Twitter user @hannah_moors tweeted that the email stated the furlough will probably last longer than the 6 months Disney originally stated back in April.
Related: 40,000 More Walt Disney World Employees To Be Furloughed Beginning On April 19
Just that our furlough is probably lasting longer than the 6 months they told us back in April! The wording in the beginning made it sound like we were getting laid off.
— Hannah Moors (@hannah_moors) August 24, 2020
However, many are more upset about how the email was worded. One Twitter user stating “Whoever crafted that Disney email just needs to be let go because I can guarantee you just had thousands of employees believe they were about to be fired through email y’all had me in the first half not gonna lie.”
Whoever crafted that Disney email just needs to be let go because I can guarantee you just had thousands of employees believe they were about to be fired through email y’all had me in the first half not gonna lie.
— Josh D’Amaro Fan Account (@ronald_kinloch) August 24, 2020
Another Twitter user also expressed their frustrations saying “omg that email we just got from disney gave me an absolute HEART ATTACK i was reading it terrified and thinking it was me getting laid off holy cow.”
omg that email we just got from disney gave me an absolute HEART ATTACK i was reading it terrified and thinking it was me getting laid off holy cow
— ashッ (@splashleys) August 24, 2020
And this Twitter user who thought he was going to get fired saying “I got a email from Disney and I thought they were finally Going to fire me”.
I got a email from Disney and I thought they were finally
Going to fire me— Irmz (@gonirmz) August 24, 2020
Though several Cast Members were called back to work when the theme parks reopened in mid-July, there are still several others who remain on furlough as with reduced capacity and reduced hours, the parks don’t need as many Cast Members working.
In fact, tens of thousands of Cast Members remain furloughed at Walt Disney World as the theme parks will begin to cut back the theme park hours in 2 weeks.
Related: Furloughed Disney World Employees Continue To Struggle For Benefits
We are keeping these furloughed Cast Members in our thoughts during this unprecedented time.