Disney to cut 4,000 ‘redundant and disposable’ jobs starting in April

The 4,000 employees expected to be cut have been characterized as "redundant and disposable," according to a recent report.

CEO Bob Iger announced in early February plans to lay off 7,000 employees throughout the company, with at least 4,000 of those cuts coming from existing roles, and the remainder coming from open roles, according to Business Insider.

The upcoming cuts come after the company reported profits of $23.51 billion, which passed some analysts’ expectations of $23.44 billion, according to the Daily Mail.

Though it is still uncertain when the cuts will be made, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that the massive layoffs will begin in April.

It was recently reported that the majority of the layoffs will come from the ESPN and entertainment divisions within the company.

Disney has faced criticism on several fronts, including their decision to bring workers back into the office. 2,300 workers had signed a petition, requesting Iger to reconsider a "return to work" policy that would see employees have their remote work days cut.

The new policy, according to signees, would lead to "forced resignation among some of our most hard-to-replace talent and vulnerable communities," while also "dramatically reducing productivity, output, and efficiency."

The petition was submitted to upper management last month, but it is not yet known how Disney’s upper brass has taken the petition.