Disney has just become the latest company to swing its axe, with about 1,000 jobs on the line as it reshapes its workforce towards a more tech-driven future.
On Tuesday, employees learned of the cuts through an internal memo from the company’s new chief executive, Josh D’Amaro. The layoffs are tied to a broader strategy to modernize the company and shift its focus towards efficiency and automation as it adapts to changing consumer habits.
Affected divisions
With 102 years in existence, the company ranks among America’s oldest and largest companies by employee count, with approximately 231,000 employees as of the end of the 2025 fiscal year. For a company of this size, laying off about 1,000 people will affect many sectors.
However, this Tekedia report notes that its enterprise marketing division has the largest number of affected employees. Divisions such as studios, television, ESPN, product and technology, and other corporate divisions will also share in the layoffs.
The termination email, which Reuters says it has reviewed, appears to have been sent to all employees. But according to the email, those affected have started receiving individual notifications:
“Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney,” D’Amaro wrote.
He also added: “Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the company and have begun notifying impacted employees.”
The layoff trend has been primarily concentrated among technology companies, although non-tech companies have also been affected. Reuters notes that some large companies, such as Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Skydance, have all had to lay off part of their staff while adjusting to the new economic realities of their industry.
In 2023, under the leadership of CEO Bob Iger, Disney announced plans to reorganize, eliminating 7,000 roles. Tekedia reports that the reorganization plan was expected to save the company $5.5 billion in costs.
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What the charts look like for Disney
Looking back five years, one would see a 45% decline in Disney’s stock, and it generally looks lower than it was a decade ago. However, over the last year, it has seen a 21% increase.
Despite the layoffs, which are occurring as the company shifts towards an agile workforce for economic reasons, investor confidence remains positive. The day it announced the layoffs, its shares reportedly rose 1.6%, suggesting hopes are high for Disney’s future.
For D’Amaro, who’s still new and tasked with helping the company navigate this industry-wide shift in consumer behavior and fierce competition, this could be a good sign after about 1,000 of his employees were terminated. However, it’s yet to be determined if this move will yield the envisioned results.
Also read: Snap cut 1,000 jobs this week after saying AI now lets smaller teams do more.