JANUARY 14, 2024 — PIXAR
The company has confirmed that layoffs might approach 20% with Pixar dropping approximately 300 employees in 2024. No details have been provided as to the number or the date, only that layoffs are scheduled.
MAY 19, 2023 — CALIFORNIA EMPLOYEES GET REPRIEVE
As Disney and CEO Bob Iger battle Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the company has apparently delayed or scrapped plans for a $1 billion Lake Nona office complex in Florida, An estimated 2,000 California jobs would have migrated to the Florida complex.
Truth be told, Disney is suffering from economic losses, cutting staff, and was not planning to complete the project championed by the former CEO. They are trying to cut expenses, not engage in costly building projects.
Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney’s parks, experiences, and products division …
Team,
I wanted to let you know that we’ve just begun communication regarding our updated plans for the Lake Nona campus.
As many of you know, the company has decided to build a new Disney campus in Lake Nona and many cast members, Imagineers, and employees were asked to commit to making a move to Florida. While some were excited about the new campus, I know that this decision and the circumstances surrounding it have been difficult for others.
Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with the construction of the campus. his was not an easy decision to make, but I believe it is the right one. As a result, we will no longer be asking our employees to relocate. For those who have already moved, we will talk to you individually about your situation, including the possibility of you moving back.
It is clear to me that the power of this brand comes from our incredible people, and we are committed to handling this change with care and compassion. I remain optimistic about the direction of our Walt Disney World business. We have plans to invest $17 billion and create 13,000 jobs over the next ten years. I hope we’re able to do so.
We are committed to our teams who call Central Florida home and to all our Cast Members around the world, and I want to thank you for your continued dedication to Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products for delivering world-class entertainment for our guests.
Josh
APRIL 25, 2023 — 4,000 IMMEDIATELY TARGETED
The second wave of layoffs is underway at Disney, with 4,000 employees immediately targeted. According to Disney, a third and final wave of cuts is expected to begin ahead of the summer, which will bring the Mouse House to its full 7,000 layoffs target.
Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden…
"The senior leadership teams have been working diligently to define our future organization, and our biggest priority has been getting this right rather than getting it done fast. We recognize that it has been a period of uncertainty and thank you all for your understanding and patience."
MARCH 19, 2021 — THE WORD IS OUT AND IT’S NOT GOOD
It appears that Disney honchos have been instructing managers to propose budget cuts and put together lists of employees to be laid off in the coming weeks. The fatal announcements about the fate of 4,000 Disney employees seems targeted at a mid- to late-April launch.
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 — DISNEY TO DUMP 7,000 EMPLOYEES'
Disney plans to lay off 7,000 people, 4 percent of its workforce, and cut $5.5 billion in costs. Just as significantly, Iger announced a corporate restructuring that would put content production and streaming under one roof. Even worse, activist investor Nelson Pelz is ruthlessly driving the Board toward profitability.
According to Iger, “We must return creativity to the center of the company, increase accountability, improve results and ensure the quality of our content and experiences.”
It remains to be seen if Disney is going to further damage its family-friendly audience by pushing a woke ideology of hate based on whites oppressing people of color as dictated by the progressive socialist democrats.
NOVEMBER 20, 2022 — SHOCK: BOB IGER RETURNS TO HEAD DISNEY
The Disney Board of Directors, in response to a punishing year of turmoil and audience defections, has brought back former CEO Bob Iger to replace Bob Chapek, who became Disney CEO in February 2020.
The executives are to receive multiple millions of dollars while employees’ necks remain on the chopping block.
NOVEMBER 11, 2022 — MASS LAYOFF WARNING FROM MANAGEMENT
“The memo” …
Disney Leaders-
As we begin fiscal 2023, I want to communicate with you directly about the cost management efforts Christine McCarthy and I referenced on this week’s earnings call. These efforts will help us to both achieve the important goal of reaching profitability for Disney+ in fiscal 2024 and make us a more efficient and nimble company overall. This work is occurring against a backdrop of economic uncertainty that all companies and our industry are contending with.
While certain macroeconomic factors are out of our control, meeting these goals requires all of us to continue doing our part to manage the things we can control—most notably, our costs. You all will have critical roles to play in this effort, and as senior leaders, I know you will get it done.
To be clear, I am confident in our ability to reach the targets we have set, and in this management team to get us there.
To help guide us on this journey, I have established a cost structure taskforce of executive officers: our CFO, Christine McCarthy and General Counsel, Horacio Gutierrez. Along with me, this team will make the critical big picture decisions necessary to achieve our objectives.
We are not starting this work from scratch and have already set several next steps—which I wanted you to hear about directly from me.
First, we have undertaken a rigorous review of the company’s content and marketing spending working with our content leaders and their teams. While we will not sacrifice quality or the strength of our unrivaled synergy machine, we must ensure our investments are both efficient and come with tangible benefits to both audiences and the company.
Second, we are limiting headcount additions through a targeted hiring freeze. Hiring for the small subset of the most critical, business-driving positions will continue, but all other roles are on hold. Your segment leaders and HR teams have more specific details on how this will apply to your teams.
Third, we are reviewing our SG&A costs and have determined that there is room for improved efficiency—as well as an opportunity to transform the organization to be more nimble. The taskforce will drive this work in partnership with segment teams to achieve both savings and organizational enhancements. As we work through this evaluation process, we will look at every avenue of operations and labor to find savings, and we do anticipate some staff reductions as part of this review. In the immediate term, business travel should now be limited to essential trips only. In-person work sessions or offsites requiring travel will need advance approval and review from a member of your executive team (i.e., direct report of the segment chairman or corporate executive officer). As much as possible, these meetings should be conducted virtually. Attendance at conferences and other external events will also be restricted and require approvals from a member of your executive team.
Our transformation is designed to ensure we thrive not just today, but well into the future—and you will hear more from our taskforce in the weeks and months ahead.
I am fully aware this will be a difficult process for many of you and your teams. We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions. But that is just what leadership requires, and I thank you in advance for stepping up during this important time. Our company has weathered many challenges during our 100-year history, and I have no doubt we will achieve our goals and create a more nimble company better suited to the environment of tomorrow.
Thank you again for your leadership.
-Bob
JULY 17, 2021 — DISNEY MVING 2,000+ JOBS OUT OF CALIFORNIA TO FLORIDA
Disney has announced plans to relocate 2,000+ employees from California to the company's new regional campus based in the Lake Nona area of Orlando, Florida.
According to Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products [DPEP], "the new campus will be home to more than 2,000 Cast, Imagineers and employees.' and Disney expects that most of those working in Parks, Experiences, and Products professional roles who are located in Southern California at the moment and are not fully dedicated to the Disneyland Resort, or the international parks business, will be asked to relocate to the new Florida campus. Certain people in other roles may also be asked to move to this campus."
"Expanding our already significant DPEP footprint in Florida makes sense. In addition to Florida's business-friendly climate, this new regional campus gives us the opportunity to consolidate our teams and be more collaborative and impactful both from a creative and operational standpoint."
The handwriting is clearly on the wall, especially for those employees unable or unwilling to make the move.
MARCH 11, 2021— Original post…
Burbank, California-based Disney, the iconic American animation, entertainment, and media company, has announced that it will be closing 60 Disney brick-and-mortar stores by the end of 2021 as it shifts toward e-commerce merchandising. Hundreds of full-time and part-time employees will be impacted. It is anticipated that additional stores will be involved as Disney completes its review of the remaining 240 stores.
According to a company spokesperson, “While consumer behavior has shifted toward online shopping, the global pandemic has changed what consumers expect from a retailer. We now plan to create a more flexible, interconnected e-commerce experience that gives consumers easy access to unique, high-quality products across all our franchises. Each of the Disney Stores slated to close experienced interruptions due to lockdown.”
An industry-wide shift in buying habits has occurred with the global pandemic accelerating the transition from physical stores to digital shopping platforms by about five years. The same pattern can be seen in the rise of remote workers and the decrease in physical office space.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?