Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new CEO Josh D'Amaro

Disney is set to let go of around 1,000 staff members in the coming months, as confirmed by Deadline. 

These are the first job cuts since the entertainment giant appointed its new CEO, Josh D’Amaro.

The total number of employees worldwide amounted to just over 230,000 by the end of the last fiscal year, with the majority being part-time workers at their theme parks.

In January, the company promoted long-time executive Asad Ayaz to Chief Marketing and Brand Officer, after laying out a strategy to streamline marketing across its film, TV, and streaming branches by merging departments and cutting down on redundancy. 

Several job reductions announced in this new wave of layoffs are tied to this restructuring, according to a source familiar with the downsizing.

Although significant, these layoffs are much smaller than the extensive reductions overseen by former CEO Bob Iger during his return to the company. 

Between 2023 and 2025, various rounds of cuts saw 8,000 positions eliminated, resulting in savings of $7.5 billion. This figure significantly exceeded Disney's initial projections.

At Disney, the latest job cuts, which are part of a broader trend of cost-saving and efficiency-enhancing measures in the media sector, occurred this past June. 

Several hundred employees across global divisions, including marketing for both film and television, along with TV publicity, casting, and development, were let go. The financial operations at Disney’s corporate office were also impacted.

The layoffs in June marked the fourth—and largest—round within 10 months that affected various Disney television departments.

D’Amaro was officially appointed as the chief executive on February 3, and his leadership commenced on March 18 during Disney’s annual shareholder gathering, concluding Iger’s extensive tenure of 52 years, including two terms as CEO.