- Disney CEO Bob Iger announced layoffs on Wednesday.
- 7,000 jobs will be cut.
Disney CEO Bob Iger is looking to cut costs and reorganize the company, announcing sweeping layoffs on Wednesday.
During the company's quarterly earnings call on Wednesday, Iger said the company would cut 7,000 jobs. It's part of an effort to target $5.5 billion in cost savings this year, Iger said.
Iger returned as CEO in November after leaving the role in early 2020. He replaced his successor, Bob Chapek.
Insider reported on Tuesday that Disney insiders were already bracing for thousands of layoffs. In a November memo about a hiring freeze, prior to his firing, Chapek had warned staff that the company "would look at every avenue of operations and labor to find savings, and we do anticipate some staff reductions as part of this review."
Internally, there was speculation that staffers who work on non-premium digital products could be among those cut, a company insider said.
Iger also announced a reorganization of the company into three units:
- Disney Entertainment — including streaming platforms and its film studios, as well as other segments — will be led by Alan Bergman, who oversaw Disney studios, and Dana Walden, who oversaw original content and news for Disney's streaming platforms and linear networks.
- ESPN will be led by James Pitaro, formerly chair of ESPN and Sports Content, and president of ESPN before that.
- Parks, Experiences, and Products will continue to be led by Josh D'Amaro.
Disney reported in its earnings report that Disney+ lost subscribers for the first time — over 2 million, all from India's Disney+ HotStar. The platform now has 161.8 million subscribers, compared to 164.2 million the prior quarter.
But Iger still believes that streaming is the future, he said on the earnings call Wednesday.He said his plan to invest in the company's streaming future includes: focusing more on core brands and franchises, curating general-entertainment content, and balancing global and local content.
"Streaming will continue to grow, albeit at the expense of linear programming," Iger said.