The Walt Disney Company will cut 7,000 jobs as it seeks to control costs and create a more “streamlined” business, CEO Bob Iger said in a letter sent to employees Monday.
ESPN is not affected by this week’s layoffs, but is expected to be included in future cuts, according to a person familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
Bob Iger said Disney will begin notifying the first group of employees affected by the layoffs within the next four days. A second, larger round of layoffs will take place in April, with the letter stating that “thousands of people will be laid off. The final round of layoffs will begin before the summer.
Disney announced in February that it would cut 7,000 jobs to save $5.5 billion (currently about RMB 37.895 billion) in costs and make its money-losing streaming business profitable. “The hard reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney makes it impossible to take it lightly, as they bring their life’s passion to their work at Disney.”
A source confirmed that one of the first areas of layoffs was in TV production and acquisitions, which has already led to the departure of executives.
