The Burbank entertainment conglomerate announced in February that it would eliminate 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs and make its money-losing streaming business profitable.
The 7,000 layoffs — which represent 3.2% of Disney's total headcount of about 220,000 worldwide as of Oct. 1, 2022 — are part of Disney's efforts to achieve about $5.5 billion in cost savings.
The layoffs were expected. Iger in February said the company would be shedding workers to help save $5.5 billion in costs in a sign of Hollywood's retrenchment amid challenges in the business of online video. The streaming race has been a boon for the production of new shows.
More than 100 Disney hotel maintenance workers responsible for keeping the company's luxe hotels up and running in southern California are suing the entertainment giant for allegedly paying them less than fast-food workers earn in the state and forcing them to moonlight at second jobs despite working overtime.
Among the notable staffers let go Monday are Jayne Bieber, senior vp production at Freeform/Onyx Collective; Mark Levenstein, head of production and postproduction at Hulu; and Elizabeth Newman, head of Disney's acquisitions department.
Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced he will step down in 2026. When his current contract ends, the top executive of the media conglomerate will leave the role for a second time, after he returned to the company in 2022.
The highest-paying job at Walt Disney Company is a SVP Product with a salary of $622,530 per year (estimate). The lowest-paying job at Walt Disney Company is a Host/Hostess with a salary of $33,355 per year (estimate).
Disney princesses, Marvel superheroes and other character performers who work at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure make $24.15 per hour and an additional $4.75 per hour if they perform onstage, according to the Disney Auditions website.
In the U.S., Disney attributed the decrease in operating income to “the impact of the nonrenewal of carriage of certain networks by an affiliate” (a reference to Charter dropping eight cable networks last fall) and a decline in ad revenue reflecting lower average viewership.
Total debt on the balance sheet as of December 2023 : $47.69 B. According to Walt Disney's latest financial reports the company's total debt is $47.69 B. A company's total debt is the sum of all current and non-current debts.
CEO Bob Iger suggested on a call with investors that the cuts would come primarily from its struggling linear TV business. Meanwhile, the company continues to lose money in its Disney+ streaming business, but it managed to significantly reduce its losses in that division. It has never turned a profit on Disney+.
A 2018 study by Occidental College and the Economic Roundtable looked at working conditions for employees at Disneyland — the company's original park, in Anaheim, Calif. — and found that more than half worried about being evicted from their homes, and more than one in 10 had been homeless in the last two years.
Despite this, Disney+ has burned up more than $11.4 billion of operating losses since it was launched and isn't forecast to even make a profit until the end of the year.
» The number of Guest(s) an Employee can admit into an eligible Disney Theme Park is based on the total number of eligible dependents for Company events and tickets in the system of record (SAP). Eligible Employees receive a minimum of three (3) Main Entrance Guest Admissions.
Disney's shares are owned by a mix of insiders, ordinary investors, and institutional investors. Disney's largest individual shareholders are the company's insiders, including the current CEO, Robert Iger, and top managers, such as Brent A. Woodford, Maria Elena Lagomasino, and Mary Barra.
Disney's ABC unit is not up for sale, Iger said, as the company deals with a decline in linear television with viewers' shift toward streaming. Iger had said earlier this year that networks such as ABC may not be "core" to Disney going forward.
