Disney lays off 1,000 employees, Marvel Studios hardest hit

Disney has announced a new round of layoffs that will affect roughly 1,000 of its employees across its media divisions, with Marvel Studios expected to bear a significant portion of the cuts.

In a memo sent to staff, Walt Disney Company’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro announced that the layoffs are intended to “streamline operations.” The affected employees span multiple areas of Disney’s media business, including film studios, television networks, and sports.

"Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney," the memo said. "Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow's needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the company and have begun notifying impacted employees."

Marvel Studios is facing the most significant reductions, with reports indicating that roughly 8 percent of its workforce will be cut. The layoffs span multiple departments, including film and television production, comics, franchise management, and even finance and legal teams. According to a report by Forbes, nearly all of Marvel’s visual development division, which includes artists, illustrators, and other specialists, will be fired. Only a small skeleton crew of full-time staff will remain in place.

The layoffs follow a previous announcement of a reduction in Marvel Studios’ production, along with broader cost-cutting measures and workforce reductions announced by Disney.

“I know this is hard,” D’Amaro added in his memo. “These decisions are not a reflection of their contributions, or of the overall strength of the company. Rather, they reflect our continual evaluation of how to more effectively manage our resources and reinvest in our businesses.”