Disney layoffs: First wave of 4,000 employees set to be cut in coming weeks

Executives at The Walt Disney reportedly plan to cut 4,000 jobs in the next two weeks, much sooner than expected, as CEO Bob Iger works to save the company some $5.5 billion.

One report It indicates that managers are currently working to identify 4,000 employees who are “redundant and disposable” and should turn in their rosters in the coming weeks with the first big hit occurring in April.

Subsequently, the employees who appear on the lists will be notified of their termination, the report state. However, it is not clear if the layoffs will happen all at once.

Iger had previously announced 7,000 layoffs across the company after he took over as CEO in November.

The cuts come after the company reported earnings of $23.51 billion, which beat analyst expectations of $23.44 billion.

According to Business Insider, the first wave of cuts is expected to take place in the coming weeks as managers are expected to come up with cut proposals.

A person familiar with the company told the news outlet that they are confident the layoffs will come down in April.

The person also said that managers have had several weeks to make their lists.

Additionally, the remaining 3,000 haircuts are expected to come from open positions.

DailyMail.com contacted Disney to confirm the report, but did not hear back at the time of publication.

In the February earnings call where the job cuts were announced, Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said the company was looking to save nearly $6 billion.

According to McCarthy, a portion of the cuts will also come from reduced spending on television and movies.

The rest of the money will come from marketing and other non-content areas.

Last month, Iger also announced that The Walt Disney Company would be restructured into three divisions: Entertainment, ESPN and Parks, Experiences and Products.

Has been reported that most of the cuts will come from the entertainment and ESPN divisions.

After the company aired an ad during the Super Bowl last month, executives faced heavy criticism for paying millions to display the ad amid news of their layoffs.

Thirty-second commercials shown during the Super Bowl were reported to cost as much as $7 million per slot.

“Something about that celebratory Disney ad bugs me… maybe it’s the recent announcement that they’re laying off 7,000 employees and spending at least $7 million on the ad,” one person said on Twitter.

Disney said the ad, which reviewed 100 years of movie content and thanked fans for their support, was paid for with past ad credits.

Drew Lewis, Head of Content at Redbear Films, tweeted in February: ‘How many jobs could have been saved instead of spending $7 million on that 100th anniversary ad?’

Another user said in a tweet: “Layoffs were presented as cost cutting, spending on a [Super Bowl] advertisement is not essential.’

One commented under Disney’s main account post: ‘A company with a rather dark history. How about we address the recent layoff of 7,000 employees?

It’s been a tough few months for company executives, as they’ve also come under fire for recent business decisions.

In late February, DailyMail.com reported that more than 2,300 workers recently signed a petition calling on Iger to reconsider a “return to office” order reducing their remote work days.

The mandate, employees claim, will lead to “forced resignations among some of our hardest-to-replace talent and vulnerable communities” while also “sharply reducing productivity, production and efficiency.”

According the washington postthe request was sent to senior management last month.

Disney currently employs over 200,000 and signatories to the petition extension ABC, 20th Century Studios, Marvel Studios, Hulu, Pixar and FX.

“This policy will slow, or even reverse, our post-COVID recovery and growth by creating critical resource shortages and causing an irreplaceable loss of institutional knowledge,” the employees wrote in the petition obtained by the Washington Post.