Disney Lays Off Hundreds of Employees in Film, TV & Finance; Here's Why

Walt Disney is cutting hundreds of jobs from its film, television (TV) and corporate finance divisions as part of its cost-saving measures. The entertainment and media giant’s decision to layoffs will impact teams across the globe, including film, TV marketing, TV publicity, casting and development departments, Reuters reported, citing a source. 

The move comes at a time when Disney’s financial health has been severely impacted, driven by weak box office collection as more audiences have flocked towards digital media from traditional methods of entertainment. 

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Earlier in March this year, the media giant had cut around 200 jobs at ABC News and at its Disney Entertainment Networks due to financial trouble looming around the TV industry. 

Why is Disney laying off workers

Disney began a broader corporate restructuring after its CEO, Bob Iger, returned in 2023 to manage resources efficiently to focus more on growth areas such as streaming and digital. He had reportedly unveiled a plan to cut 7,000 jobs as part of a “strategic realignment” of the company. 

“We continually evaluate ways to invest in our businesses and more effectively manage our resources and costs to fuel the state-of—the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney’s,” a Disney spokesperson had said in September last year. “As part of this ongoing optimization work, we have been reviewing the cost structure for our corporate-level functions and have determined there are ways for them to operate more efficiently,” the spokesperson added. 

Prior to this, the media giant had cut 140 jobs in its television division, which represented around 2% of the Disney Entertainment Television workforce. In the same year, Disney’s Pixar subsidiary laid off almost 175 employees, which marked over 14% of its strength. 

The development is in alignment with its broader plan to navigate the evolving media landscape and increased emphasis on digital media for a more sustainable, profitability-driven future.