Disney is Reportedly the Latest Company Planning Thousands of Layoffs. Managers Face 20% Cost-Savings Targets.
Disney is preparing for thousands of potential layoffs, asking some managers to identify annual cost savings of up to 20% as the company extends a restructuring campaign that has already eliminated jobs across the entertainment company this year.
The company would achieve the savings through a combination of staff reductions and other spending cuts, with some operations expected to face deeper reductions than others, Bloomberg reported.
The 20% figure describes savings targets given to certain managers, rather than an announced companywide reduction in staffing. Neither a final number of affected employees nor a timetable for the latest layoffs has been publicly established. Preparations involve multiple divisions, including Disney’s television networks and motion picture studio.
The potential cuts would expand Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro’s efforts to reshape Disney after succeeding Bob Iger on March 18. They also follow several rounds of reductions that have reached corporate support teams, entertainment operations and the company’s theme park design business.
Disney eliminated approximately 1,000 positions in April and cut several hundred more jobs in September, primarily across human resources and technology. The company employed about 231,000 people worldwide at the end of fiscal 2025.
The latest discussions come as Disney confronts pressure from streaming competitors, weaker box office revenue and slower international attendance at its theme parks, according to Bloomberg. The growing use of artificial intelligence is another challenge facing the company as it reassesses spending and organizational needs.
D’Amaro intends to redirect a portion of the savings toward film and television programming, technology, theme parks and cruise operations, Bloomberg reported. Disney has also promised double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for the current fiscal year, placing the proposed reductions alongside its broader financial goals.
Disney’s workforce changes have also included voluntary departures. In August, the company offered early retirement packages to eligible longtime executives, a step that preceded additional layoffs. That process has concluded, with some sources telling the publication that participation exceeded expectations.
More recently, Disney’s Experiences division eliminated between 100 and 200 positions. Those reductions affected Imagineering, the creative and technical operation responsible for developing theme parks and attractions.
“Over the past few years, we’ve made real changes to how we operate, and we’re still in that process,” Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman wrote in an August staff memo. Coleman linked the cost-cutting campaign to continued investment in content, technology and experiences.
Disney’s earlier restructuring under Iger included approximately 7,000 job cuts in 2023 as part of a $5.5 billion savings initiative. The latest plans would add to that multiyear effort, although the company has yet to publicly detail how the proposed reductions would be distributed or how much they would save overall.
