Disney layoffs: Entertainment giant to cut 1,000 jobs in coming weeks, says report; who is affected?

Disney layoffs: Walt Disney plans to lay off 1,000 employees in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

This is the first major round of layoffs at Disney after the new chief executive officer, Josh D’Amaro, assumed the role.

According to the WSJ report, plans for the upcoming Disney layoffs began before D'Amaro assumed his role as Disney's chief executive officer in March.

Disney has not yet released an official statement on the layoffs.

Disney layoffs: Who will be affected?

The upcoming Disney layoffs are likely to affect fewer than 1% of the company's total staff, according to a separate report by Reuters. At the end of fiscal year 2025, Disney employed about 231,000 people.

As per the WSJ report, many of the Disney layoffs will be in the company's marketing department, which was recently consolidated.

Disney has been on a spree of cost cuts and is coordinating its efforts across divisions, especially online. To facilitate that, the company has been consolidating long-overdue operations.

In January, the company united marketing for entertainment, experiences and sports under a single chief marketing officer, Asad Ayaz, for the first time. As per the WSJ report citing people with knowledge of the matter, Ayaz's plan to consolidate the marketing group and cut costs is called Project Imagine.

How Disney plans to cut costs

Disney has been trying to adjust to the smaller profits it earns as compared to what it used to make in linear television, much like other companies in the industry. The entertainment giant is also planning to free up funds for digital businesses where there is a perceived potential for growth.

Disney has laid off more than 8,000 employees since 2022, when D'Amaro's predecessor, Bob Iger, returned and made heavy organisational changes. Most of the layoffs have affected staff in its entertainment, ESPN and corporate operations. Meanwhile, the company's strength in theme parks and cruise lines has been growing.

Disneyland Paris expansion to add 1,000 jobs

Earlier in March, D'Amaro said that the opening of a new site at Disneyland Paris will create 1,000 new jobs.

"I believe we will continue to be the number one tourist destination. I believe that we will continue to add jobs. In fact, we're adding 1,000 jobs, just for this new land that we have built," said Disney CEO D'Amaro.

D'Amaro officially assumed his new role as Disney's CEO earlier in March, taking the helm of the entertainment colossus at a time of profound change.

His stewardship of the company's lucrative theme parks business, which represents 57% of last year's profit of $17.5 billion, had helped elevate D'Amaro to the post of CEO.