Walt Disney begins to fire 7,000 staff

Walt Disney Company on Monday (March 27) began to cut 7,000 jobs that as it had announced earlier this year, reported Reuters citing a letter by Chief Executive Bob Iger. The company is seeking to control costs and create a more "streamlined" business

Several major divisions of the company - Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and corporate - will be impacted, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters. ESPN is not touched by this week's round of cuts, but is anticipated to be included in later rounds.

The entertainment industry has undergone a retrenchment since its early euphoric embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions as they launched competitors to Netflix Inc.

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These companies started to cut expenses after Netflix posted its first loss of subscribers in a decade in 2022. Wall Street had around that time began prioritising profitability over subscriber growth.

The letter by Iger said that the company would begin to notify its first group of fired employees over the next four days.

The letter said that a second round of job cuts will take place in April and it will be larger than this one.

Details of the layoffs had been closely guarded by the company, though insiders anticipated reductions would happen before Disney's annual shareholder meeting on April 3.

(With inputs from agencies)

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