Disney cuts 1,000 jobs
Disney announced plans to cut roughly 1,000 roles across studios, television, ESPN and corporate functions as part of a companywide streamlining push. Marvel is also reducing staff — Deadline reports about an 8% cut there — and whole publicity teams and specialty divisions were affected in the rounds of layoffs. (theguardian.com) (latimes.com) (deadline.com)
Disney is cutting about 1,000 jobs across its film, television, sports and corporate businesses, the company’s biggest layoff round since Josh D’Amaro became chief executive in March. (theguardian.com) The cuts began Tuesday, April 14, and hit studios, television, ESPN and corporate functions, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and The Guardian. Disney told staff the move was part of a push to create a “more agile and technologically-enabled workforce,” according to internal communications described by multiple outlets. (latimes.com) (theguardian.com) At Marvel, Deadline reported a staff reduction of about 8%, with the company’s marketing and brand organization taking some of the heaviest losses. The Los Angeles Times reported that entire publicity teams and specialty divisions were eliminated in the broader Disney cuts. (deadline.com) (latimes.com) The layoffs land one month after Disney announced a new leadership structure for an expanded Disney Entertainment segment on March 16. That reorganization folded film and television operations under a reshaped chain of command before this week’s staff cuts. (thewaltdisneycompany.com) They also come as Disney keeps pressing for higher profits from streaming and tighter control of costs in its legacy television business. In its February 2 earnings report, Disney said quarterly revenue rose 5% to $26.0 billion, while total segment operating income fell 9% to $4.6 billion. (thewaltdisneycompany.com) Disney said in that same report that it expected double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026 and planned $7 billion in stock repurchases. The combination of buybacks, restructuring and layoffs is a familiar Wall Street formula for companies trying to protect margins during a business transition. (thewaltdisneycompany.com) The company has been shrinking before this week’s cuts. Disney reported 231,000 employees as of September 27, 2025, down from 233,000 a year earlier. (stockanalysis.com) (macrotrends.net) Disney has not publicly broken out how many of the 1,000 cuts are in California, how many are international, or how many positions will go unfilled rather than be eliminated outright. For now, the clearest picture is a company cutting deeper into the businesses that make and market its shows, films and sports programming. (latimes.com) (deadline.com)
