Entertainment
Disney is planning to lay off as many as 1,000 employees over the next few months, Deadline has confirmed, the first cuts to come from the entertainment giant since naming its new CEO Josh D’Amaro.
The company’s global head count stood at a bit more than 230,000 as of the end of the most recent fiscal year, with most of that being part-time theme park workers.
In January, the company upped veteran exec Asad Ayaz to Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, after announcing a plan to consolidate marketing at the film, TV and streaming operations and eliminate duplication. Many of the cuts announced as part of the new round of layoffs are related to that move, according to a person familiar with the reduction.
Disney declined to comment on the report when contacted by Deadline.
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While the layoffs are noteworthy, they are a fraction of the size of the cuts overseen by former CEO Bob Iger when he rejoined the company. From 2023 to 2025, multiple rounds eliminated some 8,000 workers, achieving cost savings of $7.5 billion. The figure came in far higher than Disney’s initial forecasts.
At Disney, the most recent layoffs — part of a wave of cost-cutting and streamlining in the media industry — came this past June, when several hundred employees around the world were cut across divisions of Disney Entertainment, including marketing for both film and television as well as television publicity, casting and development. Also affected were Disney’s corporate financial operations.
The June cuts were the fourth — and largest — round of layoffs in 10 months that had affected various Disney television operations.
D’Amaro was officially named chief executive on February 3, and he took over March 18 at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting, ending Iger’s run at the company after 52 years and two stints as CEO.
The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the latest layoffs.
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Patrick Hipes