News Bob Iger outlines the need to transform the Walt Disney Company resulting in 7000 job losses and $5.5 billion in cost savings

[SteamboatJoe]

I always love the “ how great, magnificent, we could have not done things without her/him” wording goes when they let someone go. I don’t know anything about her. Was she involved in anything major that we would know about?

Goes well with the, "you're fired....but firing you puts us in a lurch and we hear your suddenly need cash flow so stay on until summer to train your replacement", mentality.

 

[GhostHost1000]

and that grin says “but you’re not getting that raise you want”

 

[wdwmagic]

The Walt Disney Company issues statement fully outlining details of its strategic restructuring​

The Walt Disney Company issues statement fully outlining details of its strategic restructuring

The Walt Disney Company issues statement fully outlining details of its strategic restructuring

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[ToTBellHop]

Happy they won’t be cutting hourly staff at the parks and resorts, but how will they achieve these savings without cutting any of my high-paid Hollywood Tower Hotel Bellhop colleagues.

And let’s be honest, there’s some fat to trim. Some of them don’t even get our valued guests to their rooms. I’m sick of covering for them.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Then you don't understand how ideas percolate in a creative company. Yeah, some code monkey or accounts receivable clerk or procurement analyst can put their headphones on and work a productive day without ever interacting with another human being, but most roles aren't like that. People produce higher quality output when they're collaborating face to face. Team formation happens through spontaneous interactions and personal conversations. It doesn't matter how many slack channels you're running or how many zoom check-ins you have every day, you can't capture the spontaneity of "hey what do you think about this" remotely.

Gee, it must be a miracle!!! I actually agreed with you on something, LOL

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

and that grin says “but you’re not getting that raise you want”

I don’t think Disney has a choice at this point, 95% saying no to the new contract is a unified force and a strong indicator a strike may be coming.

If Disney is smart they’ll offer another dollar and hope that works, a week long strike will cost them more than paying their entire workforce of CMs the raise they want.

Maybe they should offer to make it an employee owned co-op, I hear that’s a very popular idea around Disney these days.

 

[TTA94]

Hopefully I’m wrong but there goes any hopes of new entertainment for awhile.

 

[GhostHost1000]

I don’t think Disney has a choice at this point, 95% saying no to the new contract is a unified force and a strong indicator a strike may be coming.

If Disney is smart they’ll offer another dollar and hope that works, a week long strike will cost them more than paying their entire workforce of CMs the raise they want.

Maybe they should offer to make it an employee owned co-op, I hear that’s a very popular idea around Disney these days.

It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out. I wouldn’t want to risk my job striking while layoffs are occurring for another $1 per hour at the moment

 

[GhostHost1000]

Hopefully I’m wrong but there goes any hopes of new entertainment for awhile.

It’s been awhile since we had some anyways lol

 

[TP2000]

As someone who relies on tourists for my job I’m more worried about another housing market correction, that’s when travel will really take a nosedive. Right now feels like 2007 again, lots of people taking out equity and using that for vacations and big purchases.

In some parts of the country, the housing correction (collapse) is already playing out. I sold my large SoCal home in a very nice neighborhood to an investment firm last year, and it's still sitting there empty and off market. It's now apparent they bought at the top of the market (lucky me), and then realized they overpaid while housing sales in OC have now frozen and prices are falling (unlucky them).

At least in SoCal, I would say it's now more like early-mid 2008, instead of 2007. And yes, that will hit tourism hard.

Well, that doesn't sound like not filling open positions, does it? That sounds like layoffs coming to salaried Parks folks. Lots of them.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

They got rid of a lot of the tourist friendly offerings to entice people as well. I am one of those people who think Magical Express was important for my vacation experience. Evening EMH as well…

They really should try to move more towards a “get them here and keep them here” policy again.

I was disappointed when they ended Magical Express but our first experience without it was even worse than I’d imagined.

Standing on the sidewalk (with all our luggage) trying to get the Uber app to work under a concrete roadway was frustrating to say the least, so frustrating we ended up just joining the cab line… $60 plus tip (one way) for something that used to be free was not a magical way to start our trip.

Next trip we’ll just rent a car, stopping at a grocery store will save us enough in overpriced Disney soda and snacks to pay for it. Congrats Disney, you saved a couple bucks on ME and lost a couple hundred in junk food sales, carry on with your layoffs.

 

[Marriedatdisney]

exec hunger games time. the way this works is they say then need $X in budget cuts. The cuts get peanut buttered out along with a rough headcount reduction target. Starting at the top they look for a few key execs to chop. Then they shuffle/regorg around stuff. They do an HR led 'performance reduction' - which is usually a popularity/political wave. Then they just start cutting until they hit a number. The company goes thru a numbing period where survivor guilt hits some. Then it trudges on until either another round or things stabilize.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Seems like a reasonable plan, and Iger doing what he came back to do. It can’t be all sunshine and pixie dust.

“The Walt Disney Company today announced details of its strategic restructuring that will refocus the organization on creativity, empower creative leaders and ensure they are accountable for all aspects of their businesses globally, and put the company's streaming business on a path to sustained growth and profitability.”

Go ahead and argue against that. I dare you.

 

[Lilofan]

Happy they won’t be cutting hourly staff at the parks and resorts, but how will they achieve these savings without cutting any of my high-paid Hollywood Tower Hotel Bellhop colleagues.

And let’s be honest, there’s some fat to trim. Some of them don’t even get our valued guests to their rooms. I’m sick of covering for them.

So does union negotiations for a new contract still want that $20 per hour to pay entry level cast during workforce reductions ?

 

[DCBaker]

Here's the full memo from Josh D'Amaro -

Team,

On yesterday’s earnings call, Bob announced a strategic reorganization that refocuses the company on creativity, empowers our creative leaders and ensures we have accountability for our businesses globally. As you heard yesterday, effective immediately, the company will be reorganized into three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, co-chaired by Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, ESPN, led by Jimmy Pitaro, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, which I will continue to lead.

Our colleagues in Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED) and International Content and Operations (IC&O) will be immediately joining either Disney Entertainment, ESPN, a shared services team that supports both of those new business segments, or a corporate organization.

I’m inspired by Bob’s clear vision and I’m excited for us to contribute to a new era of exceptional storytelling. It’s an incredible privilege to lead Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and work with all of you as we collaborate with teams across the company to embark on this next chapter in Disney’s history.

Over the last few years, we’ve faced a great deal of disruption and change, and I am extraordinarily proud of the resilience you all have displayed — you embraced the need for transformation by implementing new processes, developing creative solutions, and identifying opportunities to improve our business across the organization. I know it hasn’t always been easy, but we have continued to deliver outstanding results and I’m thankful for your hard work.

As we look to the future, I want you to know that the Guest and consumer experience remains at the core of all we do, and we will continue to listen to feedback and make decisions that enhance the quality of their experience

Our businesses provide an immersive, live canvas for Disney’s unrivaled catalog of content, enhancing the value of our brands and franchises with real world experiences that connect Guests and fans to the stories and characters they love. We remain committed to our legacy of delivering these innovative and meaningful storytelling experiences and will continue to invest in our business with immersive, relevant content around the world. Yesterday’s announcement of an Avatar experience coming to the Disneyland Resort is just one example of this.

Finally, as was shared on the earnings call, the company is targeting significant savings across all businesses and the reorganization will result in necessary reductions to our overall workforce. While our teams have made great progress in contributing to cost savings, these measures affect every segment and organization — including ours — and are vital as we implement more cost-effective, coordinated, and streamlined operations. As we determine our approach on achieving these savings, we will remain focused on delivering the best guest and consumer experiences, and do not expect this to affect our hourly frontline Operations roles.

I know how difficult this is to hear and understand the anxiety that comes with this kind of uncertainty. We will do everything we can to be transparent as things progress, and most importantly, we will act with respect and care every step of the way.

I truly believe in this company, am confident in its future, and look forward to building upon our remarkable success.

Thanks for all you do.

Josh

Josh D’Amaro Notes Impending Layoffs Will Not Affect Frontline Cast Members

In a letter to employees, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro has noted that the impending company layoffs will not affect frontline Cast Members. What’s Happening: Amid the reorganization of The Walt Disney Company into three core business segments, Josh D&r

www.laughingplace.com

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Reading all these executive statements you’d think this was a company on the brink of financial collapse making the hard decisions to save itself, not a company bringing in billions in revenue every month.

I enjoy D+ but if it’s negatively impacting the companies bottoms line this much it may be time to say screw it, close up shop, and go back to licensing content to Netflix and Amazon for an easy profit rather than continuing to lose billions and sink the whole company.

 

[PatriciaH]

So does union negotiations for a new contract still want that $20 per hour to pay entry level cast during workforce reductions ?

I think the unions will get the $18/hour they want next week and these lay offs will help with the cost of that. Disney needs the front line workers like housekeeping/front desk/ culinary more than Marketing and PR at this point. They get free advertising from all the bloggers/vloggers now. $20 after Epic Universe opens and they are all competing for frontline workers. How big is the EU hotel planned to be?

 

[Not a mouse]

I don’t think Disney has a choice at this point, 95% saying no to the new contract is a unified force and a strong indicator a strike may be coming.

If Disney is smart they’ll offer another dollar and hope that works, a week long strike will cost them more than paying their entire workforce of CMs the raise they want.

Maybe they should offer to make it an employee owned co-op, I hear that’s a very popular idea around Disney these days.

But all those low level CMs who need the raise can't afford to lose a paycheck by going on strike. Strikes in Florida are so rare because they usually end badly for the strikers. I'm a 16 year CM and a 25 year union member.

 

[note2001]

Looking at the restructuring I predict ESPN is a goner (to be sold off) by mid 2024.

 

[Dranth]

So does union negotiations for a new contract still want that $20 per hour to pay entry level cast during workforce reductions ?

I would if I were them. What is Disney going to do? Fire them all? Maybe it is just me, but I always thought it was easy to walk away from a job I could get the same pay elsewhere.

It may depend on how much they realize Disney needs them though. Disney could cut half the middle management from that company and be fine. Cut any of your frontline on the other hand you will lose even more due to the redistributed work, quality will decrease further, offerings will be cut, etc. Want to see your customers even more ticked off after all the price hikes and BS of the last few years? Cutting frontline would be a quick way to do it.

In reality enough people will be scared for what little financial security they have that they may cave and accept the existing deal but we'll see.