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Credit: DisneyA major change is about to take place at The Walt Disney Company, possibly much sooner than we first thought.
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Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped a bombshell at The Walt Disney Company’s Q1 earnings call earlier this year, revealing the company would be laying off thousands of employees. Iger stated that the company would be cutting its workforce by 7,000 jobs. This is a whopping number, especially when considering the profits The Walt Disney Company posted shortly before this announcement.
The Walt Disney Company shared its ginormous profits, posting an increase of 35% on the Parks side of things. This translated into $2.1 billion from Disney’s collection of Parks alone.
Following a report that The Walt Disney Company was bracing for layoffs, we now know when to expect them to actually happen.
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According to Deadline, the first round of layoffs could happen as early as next week. This would not include the majority of layoffs, however, with most expected to take place later on in April 2023. Disney has already begun identifying potential candidates. This first full round of layoffs in April will include around 4,000 employees, with the remaining 3,000 layoffs coming later. The 3,000 layoffs are expected to come from positions that will be eliminated entirely. This move has been described as a looming “bloodbath.”
This move will affect employees on a company-wide scale. However, Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro stated earlier this year that he did not expect the layoffs to affect hourly workers on the front lines at Walt Disney World.
Eric Clinton, a union president for the Walt Disney World Resort said the Orlando, Florida Resort’s employees would not be fired because their positions are protected by a strong contract. “You don’t save the company money by cutting your lowest-paid workers,” stated Clinton in February.
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