Walt Disney Co. is cutting several hundred jobs across its film, television, and corporate finance departments, according to a source familiar with the matter. The layoffs impact teams globally, including those in film and TV marketing, television publicity, casting, and content development.
The move comes as Disney continues to realign its operations in response to the ongoing shift from traditional cable TV to streaming. The company previously eliminated 7,000 positions in 2023 as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative aimed at saving $5.5 billion.
Despite the restructuring, Disney recently posted stronger-than-expected earnings, driven by improved performance from its Disney+ streaming platform and robust results from its theme park business.
The Walt Disney Company is implementing significant layoffs this week, impacting several hundred employees globally, Deadline has learned. The cuts span across Disney Entertainment, primarily affecting film and television marketing, TV publicity, casting, development, and the company’s corporate finance operations.
Sources indicate that the reductions are roughly equal in scale across the film and TV sides of Disney Entertainment. No entire teams are being dissolved, but a significant number of roles are being eliminated. Most affected staff from Disney Entertainment Television are reportedly based in Los Angeles.
This marks Disney’s fourth and largest round of layoffs in the past 10 months as the company continues a broad cost-cutting initiative. Traditional media companies like Disney are aggressively restructuring to adapt to shifting consumer habits and the transition to streaming, all while navigating challenging economic conditions.
CEO Bob Iger, since returning to lead the company, has spearheaded efforts to cut at least $7.5 billion in costs. In 2023 alone, Disney eliminated around 7,000 jobs.
Earlier this year, in March, nearly 200 employees—about 6% of the ABC News Group and Disney’s entertainment network staff—were laid off. Last October, Disney shut down ABC Signature, consolidating it into 20th Television, and merged ABC and Hulu Originals scripted teams, resulting in about 30 layoffs. In July 2023, Disney Entertainment Television cut approximately 140 roles, including 60 at National Geographic.
Despite the ongoing job cuts, Disney reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings last month, driven by growth in its theme park experiences and sports segments. Streaming also showed positive momentum, with direct-to-consumer profits rising by $289 million to reach $336 million.
At the annual shareholder meeting this spring, Iger highlighted the creation of new roles within Disney’s experiences division, especially in theme parks.
These layoffs come shortly after a separate round of job cuts at NBCUniversal, which is restructuring and spinning off several cable networks into a new entity called Versant.
Disney shares, which have climbed 21% since the earnings announcement, were down slightly by 0.5% at $112.43 on Monday.
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