Disney Layoffs 2023: First Round Reportedly Underway, to Terminate as much as 7,000 Employees

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 27 March 2023, 10:03 pm

Disney is laying off its employees this March, and would continue onto this Summer season, with as much as 7,000 of the workforce from the company would see themselves without a job. The first round is also taking place this March, and it is reportedly what the company faces now according to sources, with it focusing on budget cuts and reallocation.

It is a massive part of the workforce, but this was the only news from Disney, with the entertainment company among the latest of those who shed its staff to save up on its operations.

Disney Layoffs 2023: It is Happening Now and Through Summer

(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 05: The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Robert Iger delivers remarks during an event introducing Disney's new "Magic of Healthy Living" program at the Newseum June 5, 2012 in Washington, DC.

CEO Bob Iger is the one to bring the bad news to employees, as there are as many as 7,000 employees who are seeing termination from the company this year. According to Deadline's report, the first round of layoffs already started, with the company already handing out the notices to affected employees, and this is not the end of it.

The next round would start by April, and the final layoffs would happen around summertime.

"In tough moments, we must always do what is required to ensure Disney can continue delivering exceptional entertainment to audiences and guests around the world -- now, and long into the future," Iger wrote in the memo (via Deadline).

Why is Disney Laying Off as many as 7,000 Employees?

CNET claims that the report also shared that most of the affected on Disney would be on the streaming service Hulu, alongside its other entertainment focuses like ESPN and more. Disney experienced a hit in its entirety and wants to optimize its workforce through the restructuring that will happen soon for existing employees.

Big Tech, Company Layoffs in 2023

Just this March, there were significant names in the tech industry which recently laid off a significant amount of their workforce, claiming that these are only a small percentage in their company. Meta is among those who laid off employees, with as much as 10,000 people seeing themselves without jobs as the company "reorganizes."

While the famous short-word social media platform, Twitter, have fewer employees to terminate within its operations, the frequent layoffs from the company are what made Elon Musk notorious. There are many complaints against Twitter in the past months, especially since he took over the company in late October, with ethical teams, content moderators, and the like losing their jobs.

Ex-Paypal CEO Keith Rabois claimed that this is because of the hiring spree these companies did during the pandemic, giving them "fake work" to do, and over-hiring to their content. Still, massive companies now see the need to lay off their staff, as it is more costly to keep their workers around, now looking to restructure their different departments affected by Disney.