Disney to begin laying off 7,000 employees

The Walt Disney Co. will start cutting about 3% of its global workforce this week as part of a "strategic realignment" of the company.

Disney announced the layoffs in February as part of a targeted $5.5 billion cost-cutting initiative. 

Disney CEO Bob Iger sent an internal memo this week to employees, saying the company plans to slash about 7,000 jobs over the next few months.

"This week, we begin notifying employees whose positions are impacted by the company’s workforce reductions," Iger said. "Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days. A second, larger round of notifications will happen in April with several thousand more staff reductions, and we expect to commence the final round of notifications before the beginning of the summer to reach our 7,000-job target."

Why is Gov. DeSantis ending Disney's special status?

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday that takes control of a local government that Disney has essentially controlled since the 1960s.

LEARN MORE

The cuts affect several divisions of the company, including Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

The announcement cited "further deterioration" of economic conditions as one of the reasons for layoffs.

Disney, which owns  Hulu, Marvel and Pixar, said it plans to focus more on its core brands.

"I am committed to positioning this company for a new era of growth," Iger said. "Our strategic restructuring will return creativity to the center of the company, increase accountability, improve results, and ensure the quality of our content and experiences.”

Disney reported  an 8% growth in revenue, to $23.51 billion, in the final three months of 2022.