Credit: DisneyDuring an exclusive interview with the Walt Disney Company Parks Chairman, Josh D’Amaro, he promised that the current cost-cutting strategy being implemented by his boss, Disney CEO Bob Iger, will not affect front-line Cast Members that work at Disney’s Theme Parks.
Related: Imagineers Pull Out of Florida, Disney World Suffers
Yesterday, during the Q&A session at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, Josh D’Amaro said a few interesting things that could affect the future operations and investments at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and other Disney Parks.
For those who haven’t been aware, Disney CEO Bob Iger and other executives at The Walt Disney Company are on an ambitious task to cut as much as $5.5 billion in expenses to help increase the profitability of the Theme Park and entertainment giant. Unfortunately, for Bob Iger and the company to achieve this goal, Disney must lay off as many as 7,000 Cast Members over the next year.
In a relief for front-line workers for the domestic Disney Parks, however, Disney Parks and Entertainment Chairman Josh D’Amaro promised investors that these layoffs would not affect the Cast Members who work with Guests directly at its Theme Parks.
Related: Disney Axes $1 Billion Expansion, Makes Plans to Move Out of Florida
In addition to this proclamation to not cut staff at the Disney Parks, Josh D’Amaro also did share that Disney “remains optimistic” about the direction of the Walt Disney World business and that the company still has plans to invest $17 billion and create more than 13,000 jobs over the next ten years at Walt Disney World, finishing by saying, “I hope we can do so.”
Late last week, Disney also announced that The Lake Nona Campus, which was initially set to house Walt Disney Imagineers, has now been pulled out of Florida. Disney shared in the email that it will no longer be asking employees to relocate to Florida. In addition, the company said it would help pull out those employees who moved from California to Florida in preparation for the project and assist them in carrying out of the state and back to California.
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