Disney weighs thousands of job cuts and a 20% cost reduction target for managers

What Bloomberg reports

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the plans, Walt Disney is considering eliminating thousands of jobs and has asked some executives to identify ways to cut annual costs by 20%. The savings could come from job eliminations as well as from reductions in other spending. The restructuring would hit the company's divisions unevenly, with theme parks, television channels and film studios among those named. Chief executive Josh D'Amaro reportedly plans to reinvest part of the freed-up money in film and television production, technology, the parks and the cruise business. Disney has not said how many positions could be affected, and it employed about 231,000 people worldwide at the close of its last fiscal year.

Earlier cuts and the company's targets

Disney has been cutting costs for several years. About 7,000 jobs were removed in 2023 under a $5.5 billion savings programme led by Bob Iger, D'Amaro's predecessor. Earlier rounds touched every part of the company, including ABC, Pixar, ESPN, the film studio and the experiences division. In April the company eliminated around 1,000 positions, and in September it dismissed hundreds of staff in its human resources and technology departments. In August it had already warned shareholders that it was assessing new spending measures, including possible headcount reductions. Disney has committed to double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal year now under way.

Pressure across the entertainment sector

The Wall Street Journal reported on 1 October that Disney planned to restructure its television division and cut jobs in its legal and global affairs units. Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment and the film units of Paramount (Skydance Corp.) and Warner Bros. have also cut jobs. Revenue from traditional television is shrinking, streaming subscription growth has slowed, and viewers are turning to social networks, online video and streaming services from large technology firms such as Amazon and Apple. Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles in October 2026, Disney president Dana Walden said the company must keep reviewing how it is set up and how large the organisation should be, and that technology had targeted its business. About a week before the Disney plans surfaced, Microsoft offered a voluntary exit programme to staff at level 70 or below in Canada, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, on terms similar to its standard severance, with about 60,000 employees eligible.

Open questions and company response

Disney has not confirmed the plans or given a figure for job losses. A company spokesperson declined to comment on the reports. The breakdown of cuts by division has not been made public, and the report describes the plans as still under study. Because the information comes from people familiar with the matter, the scope could still change before any announcement. The reports so far give no date for any decision or announcement.