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Disney Plans Layoffs, “Rigorous Review” Of Spending & Hiring Freeze; “Tough & Uncomfortable Decisions” Coming


Note this is in talks for now as Disney responds to cuts at their operations.

Reeling from a roller coaster stock market and earnings misses, the Walt Disney Company is about to start cutting spending, costs, and staff, CEO Bob Chapek said today.

“I am fully aware this will be a difficult process for many of you and your teams,” Chapek wrote to Disney executives this Veterans’ Day as the House of Mouse heads into its 100th anniversary. “We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions,” he added in the memo of a process that has clearly been in the works for awhile. “But that is just what leadership requires, and I thank you in advance for stepping up during this important time.” Bluntly predicting “some staff reductions as part of this review,” Chapek went on to tell top staffers: “While we will not sacrifice quality or the strength of our unrivaled synergy machine, we must ensure our investments are both efficient and come with tangible benefits to both audiences and the company.”
 
The mistake they made was promoting the theme park guy to run a diversified content company.

He's talking about tough, uncomfortable decisions, and I think one of them will be selling the theme parks. That's a lot of very expensive real estate that's not delivering enough profit per square foot. They're dragging down the rest of the company.
 
The biggest problems seems to be the streaming side, which lost $1.5 billion this quarter alone, and the surging prices of content production. Content spending rose from 26 billion to 33 billion last year, far more than can be justified by inflation. Interestingly enough, Disney still makes big profits from ESPN and other conventional cable networks. Streaming just isn't as profitible as the old ways of content delivery.
 
The mistake they made was promoting the theme park guy to run a diversified content company.

He's talking about tough, uncomfortable decisions, and I think one of them will be selling the theme parks. That's a lot of very expensive real estate that's not delivering enough profit per square foot. They're dragging down the rest of the company.
Wait, Disney selling Disney theme parks? Truth be told, I'm a shareholder, and theme parks, movies, and associated merch are the only profitable parts of the company. I could see downsizing the broadcast assets like ESPN and the O&O stations before touching theme parks.
 
I could see downsizing the broadcast assets like ESPN and the O&O stations before touching theme parks.

I know a lot of stockholders who share that view. What I hear is there won't be any more growth or investment in the O&O station side of the business. They see radio and broadcast TV as pretty much the same. Iger came from the broadcasting side, and now that he's gone, there may be downsizing there. The fact that they're selling the W66th street complex says a lot.
 
I know a lot of stockholders who share that view. What I hear is there won't be any more growth or investment in the O&O station side of the business. They see radio and broadcast TV as pretty much the same. Iger came from the broadcasting side, and now that he's gone, there may be downsizing there. The fact that they're selling the W66th street complex says a lot.
Like a lot of larger corporations are doing; seems like corporate overhead including expensive real estate and corporate positions who don't contribute directly to the bottom line are nearing the gallows.
The problem with trying to shed divisions, is you need interested buyers. Trying to sell off a TV cable sports network or a bunch of television properties could be problematic. Selling to some private equity guys for pennies on the dollar would be worse than just cutting expenses to the bone and riding it out.
 

Disney layoffs result in numerous high-ranking officials in streaming not making the cut​

Disney began its second round of layoffs last week and several leaders in streaming were reportedly cut loose as CEO Bob Iger bets big on revamping Disney+ service while saving billions in operating costs.
Bloomberg reported on April 27 that Jerrell Jimerson, Sean Curtis and Jaya Kolhatkar, who held leadership roles in product, technology and data divisions of Disney+ and Hulu were let go during the second round of layoffs.

Also let go were members of marketing a business development teams for the streaming division.
 
Bob Iger's contract as Disney CEO has been extended to 2026. So much for his retirement:

 
Yeahhhhh, no. Whatever fantasies you may harbor, and whatever their moves to divest some assets, a company with that much valuable IP is not going away in any of our lifetimes.
This. While conservatives have some power, and may kill some brands, the companies behind those brands will be JUST fine (and it's yet to be determined whether Bud Light will be killed, or just take a hit and then recover once Fox News finds something better to talk about).

Disney will outlive us all.
 
Disney will survive in some way shape or form, but it is not business as usual over there is it.

Their recent movie releases are not doing well, ESPN is being gutted, they just sold off the last of the Disney Radio stations IIRC.

There are billions of dollars to be made off of little boys who want to become a princess
 
What is business as usual? Selling old, non-strategic assets like the radio stations is actually a common business approach. Is adapting to changing macroeconomic conditions that affect entire sectors business as usual? Well, yes it is. When the boon turns to bust, for everyone in your space, you make the hard calls. That’s just business.

And whatever that last line was supposed to mean is probably one of those thoughts that are much better left in your head.
 
Disney will survive in some way shape or form, but it is not business as usual over there is it.

Their recent movie releases are not doing well, ESPN is being gutted, they just sold off the last of the Disney Radio stations IIRC.

There are billions of dollars to be made off of little boys who want to become a princess
It's not business as usual ANYWHERE. Consumer habits are changing. NO movies have done well since COVID, with the exception of a few Marvel movies (Disney). Cord cutting has been going on for years but is accelerating. Theme parks of all sizes are struggling, and one needs look no further than this very message board to understand that all radio stations are struggling (Audacy may be days away from Chapter 11!). There's a reason Fox sold, AT&T left, etc. It's happening to literally EVERY media company right now.

I understand that, in your echo chamber, you want to make this all about whatever political agenda you have, but look around you. Consumer habits have been changing for nearly a decade now. People are shifting to streaming (which doesn't make as much because not everyone who watches one streaming service has to subsidize all the other streaming services like the cable days). Movie tickets have gotten so expensive (again, even before the pandemic) that many are waiting for the movie to come to VOD/Streaming because it is a better value proposition. And Disney park attendance has been sliding for years as parents have been shifting kids away from TV and towards other screens (look at Fortnite, that's where the kids are when they aren't on Netflix). The costs have also put it out of reach for many.

So, tell yourself whatever you want, but cancel culture didn't work for the left, and it most certainly isn't going to work on the right. The reality is, most people just don't care. Even most of the ones who say they do, just don't.
 
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