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Disney has already cut jobs in marketing, Pixar, ABC News and ESPN this year, and its TV business may be next. CEO Josh D'Amaro is leading the restructuring, which has brought three rounds of layoffs since January. The latest round came in July and affected several hundred employees.
Disney is now planning a reorganisation of its television operations. The aim is to line up production teams with the way people watch streaming, instead of keeping broadcast set-ups built decades ago. Disney has not shared a total number of affected staff.
Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden spoke about the shift at a Bloomberg event on Thursday, October 1.
She said the company is taking operations that once ran separately and "centralising as a television business, not a bunch of silos." She added that Disney needs to keep checking how it is structured and how big the organisation should be.
The earlier cuts were wide. TheWrap reported that at least 116 Pixar staff lost their jobs, while other reports put the number near 150.
National Geographic took the deepest cuts in Disney Entertainment Television, and about a dozen ABC News staffers were let go. ESPN's reductions are linked to its integration of NFL Network assets.
Also read: Disney Offers Early Retirement Packages to Senior Employees Amid Cost Cuts
D'Amaro wants Disney to operate as one digital entertainment system rather than a set of separate cable businesses. Last month, he named former YouTube executive Adam Smith as chairman of streaming and hired Karandeep Anand as chief technology officer.
In August, the company offered voluntary early retirement to executives aged 50 and above with at least ten years of service. It held off finalising the TV plan until it knew how many would accept.
The moves reflect a wider trend. Legacy studios are trimming budgets as streaming struggles to match the profits cable once brought in. In January, Disney also merged its marketing teams under chief brand officer Asad Ayaz, and in April it cut roughly 1,000 jobs.
