Disney next in line for layoffs, to cut 7,000 jobs in cost-saving efforts

If you think the layoff season is over, you are in for yet another bad news. This time it is coming from Mouse House, the entertainment giant Disney. In reaction to sluggish subscriber growth and rising competition for streaming consumers, Disney on Wednesday made a major announcement. It said that it was making efforts to achieve $5.5bn in cost savings by taking sweeping corporate restructuring. The Result? A slashing of 7,000 jobs, which is estimated to be 3.6% of Disney’s global workforce. 

Earlier, many giants including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Ford, Meta and others announced huge job cuts. 

Disney shares rose 4.7% to $117.22 in after-hours trading, reported Reuters. 

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Investors earlier expressed their concerns that the media company was over spending on global streaming business. In the latest announcement, it said that the company will reorganize itself into three main segments: an entertainment division that includes film, television, and streaming; an ESPN division that focuses on sports; as well as Disney theme parks, experiences, and goods.

According to Disney, the restructure will streamline processes, increase business efficiency, and reduce costs. Disney is the most recent media corporation to announce job losses. Prior to this, Disney revealed that its Disney+ streaming media division lost more than $1 billion and had its first quarterly decline in subscriptions.

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Disney last made cuts when it announced in November 2020 that it would fire 32,000 employees, mostly from its amusement parks. It was during the pandemic peak. The layoffs were made in the first part of the fiscal year 2021. 

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The job cuts announcement comes under recently reinstated CEO Bob Iger. "This reorganization will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated approach to our operations," Iger reportely told analysts on a conference call. "We are committed to running efficiently, especially in a challenging environment," he added.

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