The third round of job cuts at the Walt Disney Co. is expected to begin on Tuesday.
Sources told Deadline that over 2,500 jobs would be cut across the board during the latest job reduction wave. So far, positions within the company’s theme park division have been mostly spared from job cuts.
The theme park division includes the Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Disney cruise lines and its international parks.
Based on the timeline Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed in March, this is expected to be the company’s last wave of major job cuts for a while. However, minor waves of labor reductions could happen within the next couple of months, Deadline reported.
Iger announced on Feb. 8 that 7,000 jobs, representing around 3% of the company’s workforce, would be slashed. The reduction comes as Disney enacts a company-wide plan to reduce costs by $5.5 billion.
However, hourly frontline operations positions at the theme parks won’t be affected.
The latest round of job cuts is expected to bring the company to its 7,000 goal.
During previous rounds of job cuts, several high-ranking employees were laid off.
This includes:
- Isaac Perlmutter, the former Marvel Entertainment chairman
- Rob Steffens, the former co-president of Marvel Entertainment
- John Turitzin, the former chief counsel to Marvel Entertainment
- Jeffrey R. Epstein, the former vice president of corporate communications for Disney and spokesperson for Disney’s official fan club, D23
- Elizabeth Newman, the former vice president of development and head of the Creative Acquisitions department for Disney Television Studios
- Mark Levenstein, the former head of post-production at Hulu
- Jayne Bieber, the former senior vice president of production management and operations at Freeform
- The entire Disney metaverse division, the Wall Street Journal reported
In addition to the planned job cuts, Disney has also instituted a hiring freeze, which was implemented under previous CEO Bob Chapek following a dismal earning report.
When Iger returned to his old position as Disney’s top executive, he announced during a town hall meeting that the freeze would remain in place.