Entertainment giant Disney has begun its third round of layoffs and is expected to handover pink slips to over 2500 employees, IANS has reported citing media reports.
As per reports, it still isn't known which division would be affected this week, however, Parks and Resorts division would remain untouched. This week, the company has also begun removing dozens of titles from its streaming platforms, the report added.
Subsequently, the report also added that the television division which was hit hard in the second round of job cuts will see small number of layoffs. With this 3rd round of layoffs, the total number of employees laid off would likely surpass 6,500, nearing closer to the announced 7,000 layoffs, Business Today has reported.
Furthermore, the report also stated that this new round of job cuts also comes as media companies are struggling to deal with the effects of the ongoing writers' strike.
Film and TV writers walked off their jobs at the start of the month after failing to come to terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, which represents companies like Disney and Netflix Inc. in contract talks. They’re asking for higher pay and changes to work rules, such as a minimum number of writers per show. They’re also asking for a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in script writing.
Coming back to Disney, earlier in March and April, the company had cut several thousand of jobs and had brought the total number of cuts to about 4,000. In the first round, job cuts included two senior vice presidents who led production at Hulu and the Freeform network, respectively, and a unit that licensed books, podcasts, and other stories for TV shows was dissolved.
In February 2023, Disney CEO Bob Iger had announced his plans to eliminate 7,000 jobs from its workforce of more than 220,000 in February's earning call, as the firm was looking to save billions of dollars by restructuring it, cutting content, and trimming payroll.
In November, Iger returned to lead Disney after a $1.47 billion quarterly loss in the company’s streaming business precipitated the ouster of his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek.
(With inputs from agencies)
