Disney slashes hundreds of jobs as the House of Mouse refocuses on key sector Americans love

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Hundreds of Disney employees found themselves out of a job on Monday as the House of Mouse seeks to refocus its business on its growing streaming platforms.
The layoffs affect multiple teams around the world, including film and television marketing, television publicity and casting and development.
No teams were completely eliminated, and an insider told the Los Angles Times that ABC News and ESPN largely escaped the job cuts.
The news channel is still boasting a healthy audience for its newscasts even though the ABC television network and Disney-owned entertainment channels have seen dramatic viewer defections as consumers increasingly switch to streaming.
ABC's primetime schedule has particularly suffered, with only three shows making the Nielsen's top 20 - Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and High Potential, according to the LA Times.
ESPN, meanwhile, was spared the ax as it prepares for the launch of its own streaming service.
The exact number of Disney employees who were laid off on Monday remains unclear.
But it represents the fourth and largest round of layoffs at the storied entertainment company in just the last 10 months, Deadline reports.
CEO Bob Iger set the pace upon his return as the head of the company in 2023, when he established a goal of at least $7.5 billion in cost reductions with at least 7,000 jobs eliminated.
Those cuts continued in early March of this year, when about 200 employees were laid off - representing about six percent of the workforce at ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks.
The company has also consolidated some of its roles, shutting down ABC Signature last year and rolling its operations into 20th Century.
ABC News shows 20/20 and Nightline were also consolidated into one unit earlier this year, and the ABC and Hulu Originals scripted drama and comedy teams were also merged into one operation.
That resulted in about 30 Disney Entertainment Television layoffs, after other staff cuts last year saw roughly 140 people in the division- or about two percent of the company's total workforce - lose their jobs.
Those cuts largely affected employees at National Geographic, according to Deadline.
Yet Monday's layoffs comes just weeks after Disney reported better-than-expected second quarter earnings.
Iger announced last month that the company earned $23.6 billion in revenue for the three months that ended March 29, a seven percent increase compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
Earnings before taxes totaled $3.1 billion, up $2.4 billion from last year.
Much of the revenue increases came from streaming services, with Disney's direct-to-consumer operating profit increasing from $289 million to $336 million.
Disney also received an unexpected boost from its experiences, including its theme parks and cruises.
Iger now wants to create new jobs in the Disney experiences field, he said at an annual shareholder meeting earlier this year.
He also told shareholders last month that he remains 'optimistic' about Disney's current fiscal year guidance, projecting earnings per share to be up 16 percent when compared to last year, Variety reports.
By the end of the fiscal year, Iger said he also expects to see double-digit increases in operating income for tis entertainment and sports segments, as well as a six to eight percent increase in operating revenue from its theme park and consumer products business.