The Walt Disney Company has reportedly finished its 7,000 layoffs that were part of a cost-cutting strategy that was announced earlier this year. The bulk of the layoffs took place in three waves throughout the last few months, with the second wave being the biggest. The first wave took place in March, the second in April, and the most recent was earlier this month. Variety is reporting that they have confirmed that the layoffs are over.
This won’t be the end of all layoffs, however. Disney is still planning on trimming some positions that are international. However, Disney has reached the goal of cutting 7,000 jobs at this point. This benchmark was made by Disney CEO Bob Iger who returned to the company after former Disney CEO Bob Chapek was fired.
The layoffs of 7,000 employees were about 3.2% of the 220,000 employees that worked for The Walt Disney Company worldwide as of October 1, 2022. They are part of an effort by the company to achieve $5.5 billion in cost savings. Of this amount, $2.5 billion was said to be “non-content costs,” which include labor. Another $1 billion came from targeted cost reductions. These were already underway in February. The company is also aiming for an annualized reduction of $3 billion in non-sports content costs as well which are expected to be realized over the course of the next few years.
The layoffs have led to anxiety for many Disney employees over the last few months and have impacted departments throughout the company. Daps Magic sends all of the best wishes to those who have been impacted by the layoffs.
