Disney Hit with Layoffs as CEO Seeks to Change Strategy
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
Disney wielded the axe on July 31, laying off about 140 employees in Disney Entertainment Television.
The cuts amount to about 2 percent of the unit’s workers, according to Variety.
National Geographic, locally owned television stations, Freeform, and network teams focused on marketing and publicity took the brunt of the cuts.
National Geographic, acquired by Disney in 2019, played off 60 employees — the highest cut.
Maybe it’s not that plain and simple, but after agreeing to spend millions on two more Avengers movies, it’s disappointing Disney isn’t supporting those making programming about our actual planet.https://t.co/s5BulsCK87
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) July 31, 2024
Disney CEO Bob Iger has said that Disney plans to cut its pay-TV content, particularly content “aimed at those traditional network[s],” after putting “too much” into streaming content.
As part of a $7.5 billion plan to cut costs, Pixar Animation lost 175 workers in May. Last year, Disney cut about 220,000 workers worldwide.
The cuts will fall mostly in the Los Angeles region, with some cuts in New York City and Washington, D.C., according to Deadline.
“Disney was hit with layoffs”?
Who hit them?
— GESSopines 🇵🇦🇺🇲 (@GESSopines) July 31, 2024
A report in the New York Post said Disney is not done yet.
ABC is expected to face cuts, including major changes at “Good Morning America,” the Post wrote, citing sources it did not name.
The Post report said “Good Morning America” has to achieve $19 million in cuts by the time Disney’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
ABC News, ‘GMA’ staffers brace for layoffs as Disney demands budget slashes: sources https://t.co/e6rFWGkp5d pic.twitter.com/ZYX4pKFUcG
— New York Post (@nypost) July 31, 2024
Sources told the Post that cuts will not fall on the on-camera hosts, but instead on staffers.
“‘GMA’ is not doing quality stuff,” the Post quoted what it said was a former ABC News executive as saying.
“There’s not a lot of taped pieces. It’s more live hits, and there’s a lot of [segments] selling stuff in studio,” the source said.
ABC News is likely to freeze hiring and leave open positions vacant, a source told the Post.
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