People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the Festival of Fantasy parade at Walt Disney World on July 30, 2022 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Octavio Jones Reuters
disney The company plans to embark on the next phase of cost-cutting efforts, which includes cutting up to 1,000 jobs, according to people familiar with the matter.
The cost-cutting efforts come shortly after Josh D’Amaro took over as CEO in mid-March.
The layoffs are expected to primarily affect Disney’s marketing division, which was recently consolidated under Asad Ayaz, who was named chief marketing and brand officer in January, according to the people, who requested anonymity because the move has not yet been made public.
Ayaz will report to D’Amaro and Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden, and in his newly created role, he will oversee marketing for all of Disney’s entertainment, experiences and sports divisions. This is the first time Disney has put all of its divisions under one head of marketing.
Disney stock fell slightly in afternoon trading Thursday. The job cuts were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The marketing reorganization took place in January, when Bob Iger was still the company’s CEO. Shortly after, Disney announced that D’Amaro would take over the top job, a long-awaited decision for the company.
Mr. D’Amaro, previously chairman of Disney Experience, replaces Mr. Iger after a period of uncertainty for the media and theme park giant, including a succession battle and a recent restructuring and turnaround.
Iger resumed his role as Disney CEO at the end of 2022, about two years after he first resigned. As the stock price fell and profits began to fall short of expectations, he was quickly tasked with turning the business around.
Disney announced a sweeping plan to restructure the company, cut costs by $5.5 billion and eliminate 7,000 jobs from its workforce by February 2023.
On his first official day as CEO in March, Mr. D’Amaro cited Mr. Iger’s work in helping the company through one of its most difficult times.
“When Bob returned to the company several years ago, his goal was to strengthen our business and lay the foundation for long-term growth by reigniting creativity and improving studio performance, building a robust and profitable streaming business, transforming ESPN for a digital future, and accelerating parks and experiences,” D’Amaro said on stage at the company’s investor day.
“We have achieved all of this and operate a business of strength with ample growth opportunities.”
