Politics 28000 Layoffs coming to Disney's domestic theme parks - statement from Josh D'Amaro

[Kevin_W]

Welcome to 6 flags

As someone earlier int he thread said - I went to Cedar Point this summer and while they weren't doing indoor stage shows that had at least 4 groups performing music out in the Midway and other areas of the park. It wasn't much, but at least they were trying.

 

[Touchdown]

Welcome to 6 flags

Very few Six Flags parks rely on attractions built in the last century to be there main headliners. MK’s five longest lines are a 2014 roller coaster, a 1975 roller coaster, a 1980 roller coaster, a 1989 log flume, and a 1971 haunted house.

A Six Flags with that lineup would be amongst the worst performers in the chain.

 

[drew81]

And people on certain fan sites think character meets will come back like before?

I’d be shocked if some of those characters ever see the light of day again.

 

[disneyflush]

Reading this terrible news makes me okay with not signing a deal with Disney for the next 50 years of vacations paid upfront. Hopefully the decrease in entertainment will produce some type of partial refund for DVC folks and/or be reflected in their dues next year.

 

[UNCgolf]

Good thing the face mask card is fake.

'Face Mask Exempt Card' Isn't Legitimate - FactCheck.org

A "face mask exempt card" shared on social media invokes the Americans with Disabilities Act and claims to excuse people from wearing face masks. But the group behind the card -- "Freedom to Breathe Agency" -- is not a government agency, and federal officials say the ADA "does not provide a...

www.factcheck.org

It’s fake.

It isn't fake, though.

Of course it's not actually a real government issued card (I don't know how anyone would think it is) but that doesn't stop people from trying to use it (or other similar things) because they believe it's their right. And I don't think they believe it's an official government card either; that's probably at least part of the point for them. It's a bit reminiscent of sovereign citizens.

There's a difference between saying the claim on the cards is fake (which it is) and thinking that the existence of the card itself and people's attempt to use it is fake.

 

[UNCgolf]

What is Disney supposed to do? California refuses to let Disneyland open and that is 2 of their 6 parks in the US. Florida had over 70,000 cast members and at 25% of capacity they are way down in attendance. That means if it weren't for the DVC things would even be worse. I want all the shows to return but both Disney and Universal need to layoff tens of thousands more employees if California continues to keep the parks closed. They need to put more pressure on that stupid state, sue or move more of their corporate jobs out of that stupid state. The biggest problrm they and all business face on California is the voters who keep rlwvting fools like Davis that have no understanding how important Disney, Universal, Cedar Fair and Six Flags are to the tourists industry and California in general. Put the blame where it belongs. California.

You've been hoodwinked and bought Disney's PR spin.

Disneyland's inability to open has very little effect whatsoever on these cuts.

 

[homerdance]

How much did Comcast save by buying Sky?

Comcast has about $25B in cash. And $125B in debt (thanks to Sky).

Disney has about $30B in cash. And $80 in debt (thanks to Fox).

And given: the several rounds of layoffs that Uni already went through (including their imagineers), the one year (at least) delay of Epic Universe, and the huge park discounts to attract guests... it's pretty clear that Comcast ain't showering Uni with cash to tide it over.

It's only a matter of time that Uni has similar cuts in entertainment. Their park division is similarly hobbled as Disney's with their inability to open up their California park.

It freaking still amazes me that both companies are cutting and somehow people still see universal as somehow being better. Facts be damned!

These cuts will forever negatively impact the parks, and not sure how Disney stays Disney long term with type of reduction to their entertainment.

 

[lazyboy97o]

You've been hoodwinked and bought Disney's PR spin.

Disneyland's inability to open has very little effect whatsoever on these cuts.

It's amazing how people seem to actually buy into the dumb idea that Disneyland subsidized Walt Disney World.

 

[seascape]

It's amazing how people seem to actually buy into the dumb idea that Disneyland subsidized Walt Disney World.

Disneyland doesn't subsidize WDW. However, Disneyland has debt that needs to be paid. Where is that money to come from? The only place is WDW. So thanks to California, WDW is seeing cuts. Put the blame where it belongs with the Democrats in California and specifically Governor Newsom.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

It's amazing how people seem to actually buy into the dumb idea that Disneyland subsidized Walt Disney World.

I think there's some truth to WDW layoffs being due to Disneyland not reopening - but clearly not ALL of the layoffs are due to that. The company as a whole has to make up for the losses caused by Disneyland not being allowed reopen and there are only so many jobs in CA that they can cut and still be able to open whenever they're allowed to do so, so the only solution (other than eating losses and angering shareholders) is to cut jobs in other areas to compensate. However, this purge seems like overkill. Hopefully, they'll be able to bring some of those workers back in 2021 (and hopefully as many of those CMs as possible find other employment in the meantime so they can afford the basic necessities like food and housing).

 

[UNCgolf]

Disneyland doesn't subsidize WDW. However, Disneyland has debt that needs to be paid. Where is that money to come from? The only place is WDW. So thanks to California, WDW is seeing cuts. Put the blame where it belongs with the Democrats in California and specifically Governor Newsom.

This is hilariously wrong.

Opening Disneyland (at significantly reduced capacity, remember) would make very little difference to their bottom line. I don't know how you can be so naive as to think Disneyland being open would singlehandedly make Disney completely fine, especially since a lot of these cuts were going to happen even if COVID didn't exist.

The only possible explanation is absolute partisan blindness and a desire to blame anything and everything on Democrats (or Republicans, if you were coming from the other side). Just take a step back and look at things rationally.

 

[Tay]

This just keeps getting uglier and uglier. Hopefully the cast members can find jobs.

 

[UNCgolf]

I think there's some truth to WDW layoffs being due to Disneyland not reopening - but clearly not ALL of the layoffs are due to that. The company as a whole has to make up for the losses caused by Disneyland not being allowed reopen and there are only so many jobs in CA that they can cut and still be able to open whenever they're allowed to do so, so the only solution (other than eating losses and angering shareholders) is to cut jobs in other areas to compensate. However, this purge seems like overkill. Hopefully, they'll be able to bring some of those workers back in 2021 (and hopefully as many of those CMs as possible find other employment in the meantime so they can afford the basic necessities like food and housing).

The reason this purge seems like overkill is because it's not really a response to COVID. Some of it is, sure, but many of these cuts were already planned (as said by both insiders and Bob Iger himself). It probably would have been spread out more, but COVID gave them a reason to do it all at once.

It's possible a few jobs would have been saved if Disneyland was open, but it would not have made a significant difference in either the job losses or Disney's current bottom line. They generally don't make as much money off of Disneyland guests as they do off WDW guests anyways, and with the major capacity reduction, it would have a very small effect on the overall financials.

 

[Sweet Thing]

The reason this purge seems like overkill is because it's not really a response to COVID. Some of it is, sure, but many of these cuts were already planned (as said by both insiders and Bob Iger himself). It probably would have been spread out more, but COVID gave them a reason to do it all at once.

It's possible a few jobs would have been saved if Disneyland was open, but it would not have made a significant difference in either the job losses or Disney's current bottom line. They generally don't make as much money off of Disneyland guests as they do off WDW guests anyways, and with the major capacity reduction, it would have a very small effect on the overall financials.

What confuses me about this is the seasonal performers who were laid off. I get full and part time. Those cast members receive benefits. Seasonal cast receive no benefits from the company (other than park admission) so cutting them literally saves no money.

 

[Lilofan]

This just keeps getting uglier and uglier. Hopefully the cast members can find jobs.

I have read that U-Haul and other moving companies are seeing increased business due to some that are laid off packing up and moving back home to live with family.

 

[flynnibus]

The reason this purge seems like overkill is because it's not really a response to COVID. Some of it is, sure, but many of these cuts were already planned (as said by both insiders and Bob Iger himself). It probably would have been spread out more, but COVID gave them a reason to do it all at once.

This argument can go on forever... because people will keep talking past each other.

Did Bob Iger say they were going to zero out virtually ALL performance based entertainment at WDW? No.. but that's essentially what has been done right now. Example.. Plans to eliminate streetmosphere or reduce show counts... is not on the same level of closing essentially every live performance including fixed theatre shows... which is where we are at.

So one can't really take the line of 'this isn't a response to COVID'. Because they aren't doing a reduction - they've essentially zero'd it all out. And unless someone can validate that's really what Disney's end game was back at the start of the FY.. then there really is a reaction to COVID element.

"cuts were planned" - is a whole range of 1% to 100%... without talking about how much, it's real convenient to blanket claim 'planned cuts' could be anything?

 

[Skywise]

This argument can go on forever... because people will keep talking past each other.

Did Bob Iger say they were going to zero out virtually ALL performance based entertainment at WDW? No.. but that's essentially what has been done right now. Example.. Plans to eliminate streetmosphere or reduce show counts... is not on the same level of closing essentially every live performance including fixed theatre shows... which is where we are at.

So one can't really take the line of 'this isn't a response to COVID'. Because they aren't doing a reduction - they've essentially zero'd it all out. And unless someone can validate that's really what Disney's end game was back at the start of the FY.. then there really is a reaction to COVID element.

"cuts were planned" - is a whole range of 1% to 100%... without talking about how much, it's real convenient to blanket claim 'planned cuts' could be anything?

Right.

At worst (for us) Chapek could've seen this as a two-fer - but there's no way he would've cut the lucrative standing shows at the resorts if he didn't have to.

From a COVID perspective it makes sense - rides, stores and to a lesser extent restaurants can have their experiences controlled to minimize human contact.

Entertainment - including face to face contact and singing (which is taboo now) can't be protected against and is an incident waiting to happen. Even if you put plexiglass dividers between the stage and audience you'd STILL have the group contact of the players.

ironically... this would be a good time to fire up the animatronics division and put up some more animatronics entertainment country bear style!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Even if you put plexiglass dividers between the stage and audience you'd STILL have the group contact of the players.

They were able to open the frozen show. I thought lion king, Indy and others were rehearsing to reopen.

 

[marni1971]

They were able to open the frozen show. I thought lion king, Indy and others were rehearsing to reopen.

They’ve been prepping for shows to reopen since WDW reopened.

Then things changed.

 

[Skywise]

They were able to open the frozen show. I thought lion king, Indy and others were rehearsing to reopen.

I THINK - that's because the infection rates were dropping and the hope was that with the masks (like the lock down before it) would effectively kill it off. With the rates increasing worldwide everyone's falling back to the 1918 Spanish Flu model (which took about 18 months before the infection died off on its own) - so everyone's looking at next fall as the current end point.