Disney’s latest workforce reduction has been described as “extremely painful” by President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden, who defended the cuts as part of the entertainment giant’s broader effort to streamline its sprawling business structure. Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, Walden explained that Disney’s current organisational model is partly the result of years of acquisitions. Those deals expanded the company across multiple businesses, but also created separate leadership teams and individual profit-and-loss structures.
The company is now attempting to bring those operations closer together under a more centralised structure. According to Walden, Disney is examining whether its existing organisation, workforce and internal processes allow teams to make decisions and respond to changing market conditions quickly enough.
Disney’s organisational complexity has grown alongside its expansion into different segments of the entertainment industry. Over the years, acquisitions have added businesses with their own management structures and operational responsibilities.
Walden said Disney is now assessing whether that model remains appropriate for the company’s next phase. The restructuring is intended to create greater coordination between different parts of the business and reduce the barriers that can slow down decision-making.
She also pushed back against the idea that Disney is uniquely responsible for the current wave of entertainment-industry job reductions. According to Walden, the company is facing competitive pressure from technology businesses that have increasingly moved into areas traditionally dominated by entertainment companies.
“Technology set their sights on our business, and we must survive and thrive and grow,” Walden said.
Around 300 Employees Affected In Latest Disney Layoffs
The latest Disney job cuts have affected approximately 300 employees, with human resources and technology reportedly among the functions facing the biggest impact.
The reductions came soon after Disney ended enrolment for a voluntary early retirement programme. The scheme was targeted at directors and employees above that level who had completed at least 10 years at the company.
The latest round is part of a broader cost and organisational restructuring that has continued since Josh D’Amaro took over as Disney CEO in March, replacing Bob Iger.
D’Amaro has been advancing a “One Disney” strategy designed to bring greater alignment across the company’s major operations, including movies, streaming, theme parks, consumer products, gaming and sports.
Third Layoff Round Since Josh D’Amaro Became CEO
Disney has carried out multiple rounds of workforce reductions since D’Amaro assumed the top executive role.
In April, the company eliminated roughly 1,000 positions, with marketing and corporate functions bearing much of the impact. Another round followed in July, affecting several hundred employees across businesses including Pixar, National Geographic and ESPN.
The ESPN cuts were partly associated with the integration of NFL Network assets, adding to the organisational changes taking place across Disney’s sports operations.
The scale of Disney’s workforce provides context for the ongoing restructuring. The company employed 231,000 people at the end of fiscal 2025.
While the latest reduction of around 300 positions represents a relatively small portion of its overall workforce, it comes alongside earlier job cuts and voluntary retirement measures.