Disney announces entertainment division layoffs amid streaming push

Disney is laying off hundreds of employees in its entertainment division, as the company continues to adapt to streaming trends. — Image credit: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

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Summary

Disney layoffs

Disney is cutting several hundred jobs globally, mainly in its entertainment and finance divisions, as part of ongoing restructuring.

Positive Q2 earnings

The layoffs follow a strong Q2 earnings report and reflect the industry's shift from cable to streaming.

Immigration affecting Disney resorts

Meanwhile, Disney World employees under Temporary Protected Status risk being placed on leave without updated work authorization.

Full story

The Walt Disney Company announced another round of job cuts, as several hundred employees worldwide are losing their positions, Deadline reported. The layoffs are primarily within the Disney Entertainment division, including marketing positions for movies and TV, as well as publicity for television casting and development. Jobs in the company’s finance department are also being eliminated.

“As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fueling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,” a spokesperson said in an email to CBS News on Monday, June 1. “As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions today.”

The exact number of personnel to be laid off wasn’t confirmed.

Industry-wide shift toward streaming services

Disney and its competitors are adapting their business strategies as more people shift away from traditional cable TV, opting instead to watch content on streaming services.

Disney’s portfolio spans multiple verticals, including sports, news, movies, TV, and streaming, encompassing ESPN, ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Marvel, Disney+, and Hulu.

The entertainment company announced restructuring plans in 2023, which included laying off 7,000 employees at the time.

Ongoing layoffs follow strong financial quarter

The exact number of layoffs in the newest round is currently unknown. This is the fourth round of layoffs for The Walt Disney Company in less than a year. In March, ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks laid off 200 employees.

The announcement of layoffs follows the company’s $23.6 billion in revenue for Q2, a 7% increase compared to the same quarter last year, according to CBS News.

Disney World employees face legal employment hurdles

Meanwhile, the company’s theme parks are also losing employees. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration could end Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Venezuelans.

Straight Arrow News reported that Disney officials sent an email to employees at Walt Disney World, the company’s Florida resort. The message, directed at workers residing in the U.S. under the TPS program, stated that they would be placed on leave unless they provided updated documents proving they are still legally authorized to work in the U.S.

Cole Lauterbach (Managing Editor) and Drew Pittock (Digital Producer) contributed to this report.

Tags: Disney, Disney World, Disney+, Disneyland, Layoffs, Streaming

Why this story matters

Job cuts at The Walt Disney Company highlight the ongoing transformation in the entertainment industry as companies adapt to changes in media consumption, workforce restructuring, and legal employment challenges.

Industry transformation

According to Disney, rapid changes in the entertainment sector, such as the shift toward streaming services, are driving companies to reevaluate and restructure their operations.

Workforce reductions

The ongoing layoffs, impacting several hundred employees globally across divisions like marketing, finance, and publicity, reflect broader cost-cutting and efficiency measures in response to changing business demands.

Legal employment challenges

Employees at Disney World are experiencing uncertainty due to legal status issues, as highlighted by the Supreme Court ruling regarding Temporary Protected Status and subsequent company communications to affected staff.

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Community reaction

While direct local or employee voices are largely absent, several sources note concern and criticism from staff and observers regarding layoffs during periods of reported profitability. According to some coverage, employees and industry watchers question whether job cuts are necessary when Disney posts strong financial results, indicating a disconnect between corporate strategy and community sentiment.

Global impact

These layoffs highlight challenges that global media giants face as entertainment consumption shifts from traditional TV to streaming. Similar cuts at competitors, such as Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, suggest a broader international transition in media employment and business strategy, signaling industry-wide impact on creative and corporate jobs beyond the United States.

Solution spotlight

Disney is reportedly focusing its growth strategy on profitability in streaming and expanding its parks and experiences business, including a theme park partnership in Abu Dhabi. The company also aims to streamline operations and reduce costs by consolidating teams and refocusing on high-quality original content rather than mass production across platforms.

Sources

Bias comparison

Media outlets on the left frame Disney’s layoffs as a symptom of internal restructuring amid “difficult economic environments” and a strategic pivot toward streaming profitability, emphasizing employee impact with terms like “terminated” and highlighting that no full teams were eliminated to soften disruption perceptions.
Media outlets in the center provide broader industry context, spotlighting “cost-cutting mode” across Hollywood and Disney’s unexpectedly strong streaming and theme park earnings, a detail largely absent from left narratives.
Media outlets on the right though less emotionally charged, tend to de-emphasize workforce welfare, often framing layoffs in the context of corporate downsizing without sympathetic language.

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Media landscape

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61 total sources

Key points from the Left

Disney is laying off several hundred employees globally as part of its ongoing cost-cutting efforts.
The layoffs primarily impact marketing, publicity, casting and corporate finance.
This follows a previous round of layoffs in March that cut nearly 200 jobs at ABC News.
CEO Bob Iger announced a plan in 2023 to eliminate 7,000 jobs to streamline operations.

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Key points from the Center

Walt Disney Co. began laying off several hundred employees on Monday across its film, television and corporate finance divisions worldwide.
These cuts follow Disney's broader retrenchment efforts announced in February 2023 aimed at reducing expenses amid a prolonged downturn in Hollywood production and employment.
The layoffs impact marketing, publicity, casting and development teams, while the company continues restructuring after previous job eliminations including about 7,000 roles cut this year.
At the close of its most recent fiscal year, Disney employed approximately 233,000 people, and since early 2023, CEO Bob Iger has aimed to reduce expenses by $7.5 billion or more.
These staff reductions reflect Disney's response to shifting audience habits toward streaming and ongoing industry challenges, signaling continued restructuring despite recent strong earnings.

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