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Credit: The Walt Disney CompanyWhen Bob Iger returned as CEO of The Walt Disney Company in November 2022, the company was bleeding uncontrollably, and it was up to him to figure out how to stop it. Just a few months later, he announced that Disney would be eliminating nearly 7,000 jobs. Nearly 4,000 cast members would be laid off, and 3,000 open positions would be left unfilled. The news was surprising and disappointing, but it would save the company around $5.5 billion.
The layoffs at the Mouse House began in March 2023 and occurred in three rounds. After that, employees felt that the worst was behind them, but this past summer, more layoffs hit the company. However, this time, they hit Pixar Animation Studios, and nearly 14% of those working there — around 175 employees — found themselves without a job.
Related: Disney to Layoff Even More Cast Members, While Outsourcing Their Jobs Around the Globe
Sadly, those who survived the “bloodbath” last year have now learned that huge layoffs are not completely in the rearview mirror.
According to a report from Deadline, a new round of layoffs has hit Disney, and nearly 300 employees have been impacted. The job cuts reportedly began on September 24 and will continue through at least September 26.
The positions — all based in the U.S. — are across Disney’s corporate operations, including legal, HR, finance and communications, we hear. Among the divisions that are not impacted in this round are Parks, ESPN as well as Disney Entertainment.
Related: Disney Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2’ Came at a Devastating Cost, True Price Revealed
In a statement to Deadline, a Disney spokesperson said the layoffs occurred as the company sought ways to “more effectively manage our resources.”
“We continually evaluate ways to invest in our businesses and more effectively manage our resources and costs to fuel the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney. As part of this ongoing optimization work, we have been reviewing the cost structure for our corporate-level functions and have determined there are ways for them to operate more efficiently.”
As in the past, the layoffs did not affect those working at Disney theme park. In stark contrast to the corporate side, Disney parks are almost always looking to people to work for them.
Related: After Laying Off Thousands, Bob Iger’s Staggering Salary Revealed
This is the second round of layoffs from Disney in the past couple of months. In late July, Disney Entertainment Television laid off approximately 140 employees, which was around 2% of its workforce.
Unfortunately, Disney is not the only entertainment company laying off a significant number of employees. Paramount Studios has been making headlines in recent days as it lays off hundreds of employees. The company said that it was looking to reduce its workforce by about 15%. Then, over at Fox, around 30 employees were laid off.
The layoffs come as all studios struggle with the increasing decline in cable and the increased use of streaming services. While multiple studios created their own streaming platforms, many of them are working to join forces, hoping to entice more subscribers. Earlier this summer, Disney teamed up with Warner Bros. and released the Disney+, Hulu, Max bundle.
Do you think Disney needs to continue to lay off employees to save money? Or is there a better way to go about it? Let us know in the comments.
This post originally appeared on Disney Dining.