Disney will lay off 4,000 workers over the next two weeks. Bob Iger asked the company's senior management, as reported by Business Insider, to identify possible people who could be let go before the start of April.
The job cuts are the first of 7,000 jobs Disney intends to cut in its effort to save about $6 million, Iger said in February. The other 3,000 remaining positions, Insider stated, will come from vacant job contracts. In other words, they will not create new jobs.
According to the CEO of the company, these cuts are completely necessary due to the crisis that his company is going through: "I do not make this decision lightly," he said during the call, in which he called the layoffs a "necessary step to address the challenges we face today."
Although the layoffs, as reported in February, will be worldwide, it is not known how they will affect the different states. The Detroit News reported that the number of layoffs in Florida is unknown. However, it seems that it will affect less than 50 people, based on the following information:
State records show Disney has not filed any mass layoff notices with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity as of Monday. Federal law requires companies to file notices 60 days in advance of layoffs affecting 50 or more workers.
Restructuring Disney into three divisions
As reported by Business Insider, Bob Iger plans to restructure the company into three divisions: Entertainment, ESPN and Parks, Experiences and Products. Some changes have already been implemented. Alan Bergman and Dana Walden will co-chair Entertainment, with Bergman in charge of the film division and Walden in charge of television. Both will equally oversee the business and broadcast network divisions.
The Parks, Experiences and Products division will be one of the divisions that will experience the most layoffs. However, Disney Parks president Josh D' Amaro said in an internal e-mail obtained by Spectrum News that the major theme parks will not be affected:
While our teams have made great progress in contributing to cost savings, these measures affect every segment and organization — including ours — and are vital as we implement more cost-effective, coordinated, and streamlined operations.
