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Josh D’Amaro Comforts Disney Cast Members Following Layoffs

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Posted on by Katrina Allen 5 Comments
A man standing in front of a lake

Credit: Josh D'Amaro on Instagram

Yesterday, Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney Parks and Experiences, Products was spotted at Downtown Disney spending time with Cast Members on the heels of the massive layoff announcement by Disney. When people noticed this they took to Twitter to share and react to the news.

This is the statement letter from Josh D’Amaro to Disney Cast Members regarding layoffs:

September 29, 2020 

Team,

I write this note to you today to share some difficult decisions that we have had to make regarding our Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products organization.

Let me start with my belief that the heart and soul of our business is and always will be people. Just like all of you, I love what I do. I also love being surrounded by people who think about their roles as more than jobs, but as opportunities to be a part of something special, something different, and something truly magical.  

Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Few of us could have imagined how significantly the pandemic would impact us — both at work and in our daily lives. We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we find that has not been the case. And, as a result, today we are now forced to reduce the size of our team across executive, salaried, and hourly roles. 

As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy. For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.  

As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic. 

Thank you for your dedication, patience and understanding during these difficult times. I know that these changes will be challenging. It will take time for all of us to process this information and its impact. We will be scheduling appointments with our affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. Additionally, today we will begin the process of discussing next steps with unions. We encourage you to visit The Hub or the WDI Homepage for any support you may need. 

For those who will be affected by this decision, I want to thank you for all that you have done for our company and our guests. While we don’t know when the pandemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and hope to welcome back Cast Members and employees when we can. 

Most sincerely, 

Josh D’Amaro

Chairman

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products

And the day after the layoffs were announced, D’Amaro spent time with Disneyland Resort Cast Members.

The first tweet from @powerfuldog on twitter says Josh D’Amaro was apologizing to Cast Members and even letting them vent their frustrations to him.

This next post comes to us from @Kslone4 in a twitter thread explaining how Josh D’Amaro was doing “crisis management”.

Related: Disney Fans Support Cast Members Amid Layoffs

More Twitter users give their take in response to @powerfuldog’s original post.

Related: Over 400 Disney Imagineers Impacted by Theme Park Layoffs

As we know Disney has been going back and forth with local California governing bodies over the reopening of Disneyland. So far there is still no word on when the theme parks in California will be able to reopen, however, Disney does cite the prolonged closure as a key reason for the layoffs.

If you would like to help Cast Members while they go through this very difficult time we encourage you to visit and read this article, which details the way in which you can make a meaningful difference to those who have lost their livelihoods at Disney.

Let us know what your thoughts on this situation are in the comments below. 

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Katrina Allen

Hi! I am Katrina, a lover of all things Disney and Universal. I previously worked for Disney where I was lucky enough to help open the Shanghai Disney Resort.

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