Disney Moves Toward Thousands of Layoffs, Asks Some Managers to Target 20% Cost Savings

DIS is moving toward thousands of job cuts and has asked some managers to target 20% in annual cost savings, Bloomberg reported late on November 2, citing people familiar with the matter. A Disney representative declined to comment. The 20% is a savings target handed to some managers, not a plan to cut a fifth of the workforce: Bloomberg said the savings could come from job eliminations as well as other expense reductions. Disney had about 231,000 employees at the end of its last fiscal year.

According to Bloomberg, parts of the business including the theme parks, the TV network and the movie studio will be affected disproportionately, and CEO Josh D'Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger earlier this year, aims to reinvest part of the savings in film and TV programming, technology, and the parks and cruise businesses. On Tuesday morning CNBC, citing its own sources, reported that Disney expects to lay off several thousand employees and that some managers have been asked to cut costs by up to 20%. CNBC also cited Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman describing involuntary staff reductions that have already begun in some areas and will continue into next year. Neither outlet gave an exact job count, and the report spread quickly on social media.

The plan would extend a series of smaller rounds this year, including as many as 1,000 roles, mostly in marketing, in April and about 300 in human resources and technology in September, per CNBC. It also lands two weeks before Disney reports fiscal fourth-quarter results on November 17, where investors will look for an official cost target, any restructuring charge, and how management squares deeper cuts with its promise of double-digit adjusted EPS growth this fiscal year. Until Disney confirms the plan, the scale and timing of the cuts remain unverified reporting.