Disney targets 20% cost savings, plans large-scale job reductions

Walt Disney Co. is preparing a significant restructuring that could result in the elimination of thousands of jobs, according to sources familiar with the private discussions. Managers have been instructed to seek a 20% reduction in annual operating costs, which may be achieved through both staff cuts and broader expense reductions.

The cost-saving plan is expected to affect various parts of the company, including its theme parks, television networks, and film studio, with some divisions likely to feel the impact more heavily than others. Chief executive officer Josh D’Amaro has indicated that a portion of the savings will be redirected into new film and television programming, technology upgrades, and the theme-park and cruise-ship businesses.

Disney has previously reduced billions of dollars in costs and eliminated thousands of positions across divisions such as ABC, Pixar, ESPN, its film studio and the experiences unit, bringing its global workforce to about 231,000 employees at the end of the last fiscal year. The company has pledged double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A Disney spokesperson declined to comment on the latest restructuring plans. Earlier reports noted a planned overhaul of the TV division and cuts in the legal and global affairs units. Industry peers, including Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment and divisions of Paramount and Warner Bros., have also announced job cuts as traditional television revenues fall and streaming growth slows, while competition from social-media platforms and tech-backed streaming services intensifies.

"There is a need to constantly evaluate how you’re structured and how big is the organisation. Technology set their sights on our business and we must survive and thrive and grow, and that’s what we’re going to do," said Disney President Dana Walden at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles.