Disney plans hiring freeze, some jobs cut......

[Laketravis]

Disney plans to freeze hiring and cut some jobs, memo shows

Walt Disney Co is planning to freeze hiring and cut some jobs as it strives to move the Disney+ streaming service to profitability against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, according to a memo seen by Reuters on Friday.

www.reuters.com

 

[castlecake2.0]

This seems aimed more at corporate level and not front line operations. They are still actively hiring cast at the moment.

 

[TDLFan]

They gotta pay for those Small World wheelchairs somehow...

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

They gotta pay for those Small World wheelchairs somehow...

You mean they have to pay for that sweet, sweet D+ content no one is watching somehow.

 

[Slpy3270]

This is hardly a shock. All the other media peers, who have less resources to absorb streaming losses (save Comcast), have been laying off people in the last few months and it was only a matter of time till Disney caught up. The hiring freeze is also unsurprising given how massive the headcount is (only Comcast has comparable numbers but the vast majority of them work on the cable side, which is Comcast's bread and butter anyway).

Hopefully the bloodbath isn't as horrendous as WBD's downward spiral, and their only good decision they've made thus far is hiring Gunn and Safran to mange DC's media projects.

 

[rk03221]

Is chapek really making the company enough money and taking it in the right direction to justify the board renewing his contract? Disney is going to need a very strong ceo after this moron.

 

[Slpy3270]

Is chapek really making the company enough money and taking it in the right direction to justify the board renewing his contract? Disney is going to need a very strong ceo after this moron.

The board is the reason this is happening. They enthusiastically renewed his contract not out of fear of what he would do, but because they support and direct what he's doing.

And, unpopular opinion here, I don't blame them for it; Bob Iger largely set Disney up for this mess thinking Netflix was going to overtake them in size and market power. Now that such fears look misguided, traditional media is trying to fix the self-inflicted financial damage they caused while their bread-and-butter television and film assets continue to face structural decline, and that will make mass media a more uninhabitable, miserable industry to work for. Iger would've very likely been fired had he not retired.

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

The board is the reason this is happening. They enthusiastically renewed his contract not out of fear of what he would do, but because they support and direct what he's doing.

The Board went along with the foolish decision to acquire Fox.

The Board voted to take on alll that debt for Iger’s Folly (that they’re still servicing).

The Board decided to create an entirely new streaming service when they had one and a half of them (ESPN+ and Hulu) and now is going to have to pay Comcast the equivalent of two or three Epic Universes to acquire the rest of Hulu.

The Board backed Chapek’s decision to fire much of its employees, leaving them in a lurch when the job market in Orlando never really softened.

 

[Slpy3270]

The Board went along with the foolish decision to acquire Fox.

The Board voted to take on alll that debt for Iger’s Folly (that they’re still servicing).

In all fairness they've managed that merger far better than how Discovery has handled the WB merger thus far, and unlike Discovery the debt doesn't quite loom that large given Disney is a far bigger company and have been slowly paying the debt up.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Is chapek really making the company enough money and taking it in the right direction to justify the board renewing his contract? Disney is going to need a very strong ceo after this moron.

That is 101% on Iger…Full stop

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The Board backed Chapek’s decision to fire much of its employees, leaving them in a lurch when the job market in Orlando never really softened.

This is the one that grates me…

Because ever since as they have bled the park customers the usual defenders () have said:

“What do you want them to do? They have to pay more for employees?!?

ECON! ECON! ECON!”


…I dunno…maybe not put a yutz in charge and fire 3/4 of your irreplaceable employee pool during a plague?

Stock woulda gone up all the same.

 

[Disone]

Disney Plans Layoffs, “Rigorous Review” Of Spending & Hiring Freeze; “Tough & Uncomfortable Decisions” Coming, CEO Bob Chapek Tells Staff

Reeling from a roller coaster stock market and earnings misses, the Walt Disney Company is about to start cutting spending, costs, and staff, CEO Bob Chapek said today. “I am fully aware this…

deadline.com

So sad.

How do they lay off when they're still struggling to get to staffing levels that are appropriate?

 

[EPCOT-O.G.]

Let’s not forget the forced attrition of Imagineering with the Lake Nona “move.”

WDI’s already been decimated and no help is on the way. Should put rumors to rest that they’re conjuring up something big to take on Epic Universe.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

“But that is just what leadership requires”

No… leadership requires that you lead the company so that you don’t need to make such decisions in the first place!!!

 

[mkt]

Disney Plans Layoffs, “Rigorous Review” Of Spending & Hiring Freeze; “Tough & Uncomfortable Decisions” Coming, CEO Bob Chapek Tells Staff

Reeling from a roller coaster stock market and earnings misses, the Walt Disney Company is about to start cutting spending, costs, and staff, CEO Bob Chapek said today. “I am fully aware this…

deadline.com

So sad.

How do they lay off when they're still struggling to get to staffing levels that are appropriate?

Usually hourly CM's at the parks are spared from layoffs - covid being the exception.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Usually hourly CM's at the parks are spared from layoffs - covid being the exception.

But it’s not just hourly CM’s that make the Disney parks magical.

 

[mkt]

But it’s not just hourly CM’s that make the Disney parks magical.

Not at all, but it's mainly them who guests interact with on a daily basis.

 

[Laketravis]

I had an interesting conversation with an elderly CM last April who was working in the restaurant of one of the deluxe resorts. She has been working at WDW for almost 30 years, and admitted that her attitude has really soured over the last five or six years. She said she's seen a culture shift in both management and employees that has resulted in a work environment far removed from what she knew the previous two decades.

She was, to put it in one word - bitter.

 

[JoeCamel]

Usually hourly CM's at the parks are spared from layoffs - covid being the exception.

I wouldn't expect frontline CMs to be part of this but the overall message at this time is we will protect investors and the 5%+ rebound today reflected that. Got to protect the options you know a $130 option isn't worth much against a $100 price

 

[Disone]

Maybe he needs to reevaluate doubling down on that guest reservation system that he says is so impactful on the guest experience. Can you find me one guest that loves it? What impact are we talking about here. Are we talking about how much the guest loves it or how much you love it from managing your labor? Let's be honest? And how well is that working for you. Considering that right now from an attendance standpoint, the parks down the street are beating every single Disney park except for the Magic Kingdom and even that is almost half the attendance it used to have.

This is the second round of layoffs you've done in almost as many years and just a couple of months ago wasn't it Bob who was saying he doesn't understand why people think all he does is cut costs?

Board of directors, reach out to Tom Staggs. Tell him you were wrong and bring him back.