Disney is moving toward thousands of job cuts, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The company has asked some managers to target 20% in annual cost savings. Some parts of Disney would feel the cuts more than others, although exact details weren’t shared. It would be the largest round of layoffs since Josh D’Amaro became CEO in March. Here’s the latest.
Disney Eyeing Thousands of Layoffs: Managers Asked to Find 20% in Cost Savings
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- What Bloomberg reports about the 20% savings target.
- Where Disney plans to reinvest the money, including the theme parks and cruise line.
- How this report fits with the layoffs Disney has already made in 2026.
Bloomberg’s report cites people familiar with the matter, who said the discussions are private. Managers can reach the 20% target through job eliminations, expense reductions, or both. Disney declined to comment.
Where Disney Plans to Put the Savings
According to Bloomberg, D’Amaro aims to reinvest a portion of the savings into film and TV programming, technology, and the theme parks and cruise ship businesses. That puts the parks on both sides of this story. Disney Experiences is in line for some of the money. Bloomberg also says some of Disney’s operations will feel the cuts disproportionately, but the report doesn’t name which ones.
That leaves the biggest question for park fans unanswered. About 80% of Disney’s employees work in the Experiences division, as we noted when the first 2026 layoff report surfaced in April. Bloomberg says the 20% target went to managers, though, and the report doesn’t say whether that includes park operations.
Layoffs already reached the Experiences division last week. As we reported, the cuts affected between 100 and 200 Disney Experiences employees, mostly at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Glendale campus. A California state filing later put 159 permanent layoffs at that site, effective December 29th. It’s unclear whether those cuts were an early piece of this broader plan or a separate move.
Bloomberg also notes that Disney has promised Wall Street double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share this fiscal year. Disney Experiences does much of the heavy lifting there. The division brought in $36.2 billion in revenue in fiscal 2025 and more than 56% of the company’s operating income, so the parks are central to keeping that promise. Full fiscal 2026 earnings come out on November 17th, and that call is the next scheduled chance for D’Amaro to address the cuts publicly.
Another Round in a Year of Disney Cuts
The company had 231,000 employees worldwide at the end of its last fiscal year. Bloomberg notes Disney has eliminated thousands of positions in recent years, with reductions at ABC, Pixar, ESPN, the film studio, and the experiences unit. In April, a report said Disney planned to cut up to 1,000 jobs. Days later, D’Amaro confirmed the layoffs in a memo to employees. More rounds followed through the fall, reaching human resources and technology teams as well as Imagineering. On October 1st, The Wall Street Journal reported that Disney planned to restructure its TV division. That report also pointed to cuts in the company’s legal and global affairs unit.
Disney isn’t alone. Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Skydance’s Paramount and Warner Bros. divisions have all cut jobs as traditional TV revenue falls and streaming subscriber growth slows. Viewers keep moving toward social media, online video, and streaming services backed by Amazon and Apple. Disney President Dana Walden described the pressure at Bloomberg’s Screentime conference in Los Angeles last month. She said that “there is a need to constantly evaluate how you’re structured and how big is the organization. Technology set their sights on our business and we must survive and thrive and grow, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Story So Far
- April 8: A report said Disney planned up to 1,000 layoffs under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, mostly in its consolidated marketing department.
- April 14: D’Amaro confirmed layoffs in a memo to employees without naming the divisions affected.
- October 27: A California WARN notice listed 159 permanent layoffs at Walt Disney Imagineering’s Glendale address.
- October 28: Layoffs reached the Disney Experiences division, affecting more than 100 employees.
- October 29: We learned the Experiences cuts were concentrated at Walt Disney Imagineering due to shifting project priorities.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!