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The Walt Disney Company has announced a major reorganization in which it will lay off 7,000 employees. That is about 3.6 percent of the current employees of the entertainment group.
The company now divides all activities into three branches: an entertainment branch including film, television and streaming, a sports branch with television channel ESPN and a branch with the Disney theme parks.
According to general manager Bob Iger, the reorganization is necessary to “be able to work more cost-effectively and in a more coordinated way”. Iger already led the company between 2005 and 2020 and made a surprise return last year. Shareholders complained, among other things, about the high costs incurred by the streaming platform Disney +. Iger said Disney may have been too aggressive in trying to bring in streaming viewership. According to the CEO, streaming remains the priority for the company.
Disappointing results from streaming services
Not only Disney’s streaming service is struggling with disappointing results. Competitors Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix also announced layoffs.
It is the third time in three years that Disney has taken a new direction. There was a reorganization in both 2018 and 2020. Both times the focus was on the growth of streaming.
In Iger’s previous stint as general manager, Disney bought, among other things, the entertainment division of 21st Century Fox. Pixar, Marvel Entertainment (producer of superhero films) and Lucasfilm (best known for the Star Wars films) were also bought.
