Disney Planning Layoffs Amid "Rigorous Review" of Company Spending
The Walt Disney Company is reportedly considering budget cuts and layoffs, following a recent underperformance in its latest quarterly earnings. The news was broken through a memo from CEO Bob Chapek, who told employees on Friday that the company is prepared to make "tough and uncomfortable decisions" in the months ahead. Chapek predicted that this "rigorous review" of the company's spending will result in "some staff reductions", as well as a targeted hiring freeze of new employees in any non-critical roles. This comes on the cusp of the company's landmark 100th anniversary.
"We have undertaken a rigorous review of the company's content and marketing spending working with our content leaders and their teams," Chapek's memo reads in part. "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. Second, we are limiting headcount additions through a targeted hiring freeze. Hiring for the small subset of the most critical, business-driving positions will continue, but all other roles are on hold. Your segment leaders and HR teams have more specific details on how this will apply to your teams."
Does Bob Chapek think Disney is going "too woke"?
Disney has been in the headlines multiple times this year, including for efforts to increase positive onscreen racial and LGBTQ+ representation in its projects. These have included the same-sex kiss that was edited back into Lightyear earlier this summer, and casting Black actress Halle Bailey as the titular character of their live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. During a recent appearance at the Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference, Chapek addressed concerns that the company is becoming "too woke", and promised a continued effort towards diversity and inclusion.
"I think the more complex something is, the more you really have to drill down into the basics," Chapek explained. "And we want our content to reflect the rich, diverse world that we live in. And, again, I guess that's another way of saying, 'Catering to your audience.' But the world is a rich, diverse place and we want our content to reflect that. And we're so blessed to have the greatest content creators and they see it similarly."
"I always say, when someone walks down Main Street and look at the castle, you're not thinking 'I'm on one side of the political spectrum or the other,'" Chapek added. "You have a shared belief in all the wonderful aspects of what Disney is. I want to use Disney to bring people together, and I think we'll do that by diverse stories and diverse characters."