The Walt Disney Company has begun a third round of layoffs in which more than 2,500 workers will lose their jobs.
The planned job cuts will affect most major divisions of the roughly $185 billion company, which was recently split into: entertainment, ESPN and parks and resorts.
They are not aimed at a specific section although parks and resorts will remain largely unaffected, according to Deadline.
It comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the company’s plans for three rounds of layoffs back in March as it tries to achieve savings of $5.5 billion.
Disney is reducing its workforce by 7,000 and the second round of cuts in April was the most brutal with 4,000 positions eliminated.
The Walt Disney Company has begun a third round of layoffs in which more than 2,500 workers will lose their jobs
It comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the company’s plans for three rounds of layoffs back in March as it tries to achieve savings of $5.5 billion
Disney’s stock price has fallen by 7.9 per cent so far this month and is down at $91.57 per share
The new wave of layoffs, which begun on Monday, will see more than 2,500 workers lose their jobs at the company.
Television was the hardest hit previously but it is only experiencing a small number of job cuts this time.
It comes as media companies are dealing with the impact of the ongoing writers strike which is forcing film and television development and production to pause.
Disney has roughly 220,000 employees globally, around 170,000 of which are in the US.
Its other two cooperate divisions ESPN and Parks, Experiences and Products will also see staffing numbers cut.
But no frontline operational workers at its theme parks are expected to lose their jobs.
The company revealed plans for layoffs and other austerity measures in February in a bid to achieve $5.5 billion in cost savings during a first quarter earnings call.
Management were finalizing details of the new structure in the following weeks and CEO Igor told staff in March in a memo there would be three rounds of layoffs as the company worked to reduce its staff by 7,000.
‘This week, we begin notifying employees whose positions are impacted by the company’s workforce reductions,’ he wrote.
‘Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days.
‘A second, larger round of notifications will happen in April with several thousand more staff reductions, and we expect to commence the final round of notifications before the beginning of the summer to reach our 7,000-job target.’
It is not known exactly how many jobs were cut in the first round but the second round which began on April 24 saw 4,000 people lose their jobs.
The company warned employees a third round of layoffs were expected before the start of summer.
And there are rumored to be a number of smaller cuts in the coming months.
It has been removing dozens of titles from its streaming platforms as a way to save more money.
The company has been adapting to new leadership since Iger returned in November after retiring from the same position in 2020.
His appointment was prompted by a plummeting share price, onset after its streaming division incurred $1.5 billion losses in the quarter ending October 1.
Disney is reducing its workforce by 7,000 and the second round of cuts in April was the most brutal with 4,000 positions eliminated
No frontline operational workers at its theme parks are expected to lose their jobs in the latest round of cuts
In February he announced the biggest shake up since his return in a bid to cut costs – $3 billion from content, excluding sports, and the remaining $2.5 billion from non-content.
Under his new leadership, a restructuring has seen him restore authority to a number of creative executives – including top lieutenants Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, who are both considered to be contenders for his CEO position within the next two years.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro will lead that segment and Josh D’maro will remain in control of Disney parks.
Disney has suffered a rocky time since the start of the pandemic but it shared enormous profits during the first quarter of this year.
Its revenue increased by eight per cent to $23.5 billion compared to the first quarter of 2022 and its profit rose by 11 per cent to $1.3 billion.
But its stock price has fallen by 7.9 per cent so far this month and is down at $91.57 per share.
