Disney Considers Thousands of Layoffs to Cut Costs

The Walt Disney Company is considering the layoff of thousands of employees as part of a restructuring effort to improve profitability. CEO Josh D’Amaro has directed managers to target 20% in annual cost savings to address a combination of weaker box office revenue, intensifying competition in the streaming market, the rise of artificial intelligence, and a slowdown in international theme park attendance.

D’Amaro intends to reinvest a portion of the realized savings into technology, theme parks, cruise ship operations, and film and TV programming. This potential reduction follows a pattern of recent downsizing, including the elimination of 7,000 roles in 2023 and several hundred more positions throughout 2025 and early 2026.

The move mirrors broader trends within the entertainment industry, as peers such as Netflix and Skydance have also implemented job cuts to reduce operational costs.