Black clouds over the fairytale castle. Disney layoffs
Hurriedly recalled to limit the expenses increased during the leadership of his predecessor, the 'new' CEO Bob Iger has ushered in a new season of layoffs at Disney. Facts, numbers and insights
Even Disney ushers in a season of heavy staff cuts to reduce expenses. It is the CEO himself, Bob Iger , who announces what everyone expected, namely that the Group will kick off the first of three rounds of layoffs this week which will affect a total of 7,000 employees of the entertainment giant.
DISNEY LAYOUT SEASON
Worldwide, according to data taken from CNN , Disney employs 220 thousand people (the figure is from October 2022). This layoff plan will therefore hit 3% and will concern various sectors of Big Tech: Disney distribution, amusement parks and even ESPN. The cuts will also have an impact on the production of original content: the company has announced its intention to cut over $5 billion in costs, which includes $3 billion for the creative part.
The news is not surprising and not only because Big Tech has been implementing massive restructuring plans to reduce costs for months, but also because Disney had been forced to proceed with layoffs already in the difficult season of the lockdowns that had stopped its amusement parks. entertainment.
THE RETURN OF BOB IGER, MR SPENDING REVIEW
Not only that: the return to the top of the 71-year-old Bob Iger in the middle of the autumn following the resignation of Bob Chapek had been determined by the attempt to revive the fortunes of the US multinational . "The board of directors – the words expressed at the appointment of Iger – has decided that, facing an increasingly complex period of transformation of the industry, Bob Iger is uniquely suited to lead the company during this delicate moment".
“Iger has deep respect for Disney's leadership team, whom he worked closely with until he departed the company 11 months ago and is greatly admired by Disney employees around the world, all of which should ensure a smooth and seamless transition. shake-ups in leadership”.
Iger is expected to remain in the role for the next two years. And now the season of cuts has arrived for the CEO: “The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends who leave Disney is not something we take lightly – are the words of the CEO -. In difficult times, we must always do what is necessary to ensure Disney can continue to deliver exceptional entertainment to audiences.”
“In this regard, we are targeting more than $5.5 billion in cost savings across the company,” Iger said. How? “First, non-content cost reductions will total approximately $2.5 billion, not including inflation. A billion dollars of savings is already underway,” said the new CEO who knew he had been called back with the sole purpose of reducing his predecessor's rise in spending over the two years.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/nuvole-nere-sul-castello-fiabesco-licenziamenti-in-casa-disney/ on Tue, 28 Mar 2023 09:59:01 +0000.