Disney to lay off up to 1,000 employees under new CEO

In its first round of layoffs since naming Josh D’Amaro as its new CEO, Disney is reportedly planning on laying off up to 1,000 employees over the next few months. The entertainment giant’s current headcount across all branches of the business stands at over 230,000, with much of that being theme park workers.

A person familiar with the matter told Deadline that the layoffs are related to the company’s decision to consolidate marketing in its film, TV, and streaming operations.

Under the company’s former CEO Bob Iger, the company saw multiple rounds of eliminations between 2023 and 2025 alone, with around 8,000 workers being laid off. This saved the company around $7.5 million. The most recent round of layoffs took place in June, when several hundred employees around the world from multiple divisions of Disney Entertainment were cut.

Disney has come under fire over the last few years for left-wing comments and content in films like the live-action remake of Snow White and shows such as Andor. The live-action remake resulted in Disney losing $170 million, with the film being the studio’s fifth-lowest live-action remake. The film was plagued by comments made by star Rachel Zegler, including her criticizing Trump and saying the original film in which the live-action movie was based on was "extremely dated surrounding the "ideas of women being in roles of power and what a woman is fit for in the world."

An episode of the Star Wars spin-off Andor released over the summer depicted an attempted sexual assault against an undocumented fugitive. In January, Kathleen Kennedy, the longtime president of Lucasfilm, announced that she would step down. Under her leadership, a number of films and shows that viewers criticized for being too "woke" were released. Another series released in recent years was The Acolyte, which showrunner Leslye Headland claimed was the "gayest Star Wars ever."