A third round of expected layoffs by the Walt Disney Company has begun and employees impacted by the cuts are being notified this week, according to published reports.
CNN and Deadline, each quoting anonymous sources, said that more than 2,500 jobs will be affected across the board at Disney.
According to CNN, this week’s cuts are expected to be the last significant round of layoffs that were announced nearly two months ago by Disney CEO Bob Iger.
In late March, Iger announced in a memo that 7,000 jobs were to be slashed over three waves, the Los Angeles Times reported. The layoffs were part of a plan by Iger to make the company more “streamlined,” according to Reuters.
The first round impacted Disney Entertainment; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products; and corporate divisions. ESPN was not among the initial layoffs.
[ 7,000 Disney layoffs begin, company shutters Metaverse division ]
The second, and largest wave of job cuts, began on April 24, according to Deadline. Those layoffs impacted ESPN, The Wall Street Journal reported. That brought the number of eliminated positions to 4,000.
The third round of layoffs was expected “before the beginning of summer.”
[ Disney starts next round of layoffs, impacts ESPN, parks ]
In February, Iger said the company would be trimming its workforce to help save $5.5 billion in costs, the Times reported. According to CNBC, those cuts include $3 billion in spending on content.
A Disney spokesperson declined to comment, CNN reported.
As of Oct. 1, 2022, Disney employed about 220,000 people globally with 166,000 in the U.S., according to the cable news outlet. The third round of cuts represents approximately 3% of the company’s global workforce.