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

[MrPromey]

I think that was his saving grace.

He may not have had the same genuine enthusiasm as the guy who came before him but he could fake it and he was, himself, a good enough story teller. I think he would have been able to talk to a group of investors about the current situation with earnings and make it possible for more to believe that it was still all part of a master plan - not a surprise, nothing for anyone to lose their minds over - because Disney is a creative company and in that environment, there is going to always be an element of a black box, you have to trust the process, investing in the future, yada, yada, yada, yada.

The problem with the Bob we have is, he can't tell a story. He has no discernible public personality and doesn't even seem to like the creative aspect of things.

The black box scares him.

He's not the guy you want to have reassuring numbers people out there about the black box.

One would wonder (as I have) why he would even want to be in charge of a company like Disney beyond the ego trip of being "the boss" (and I guess, the money).

As we know, he is firmly a numbers guy, himself. He's replaced or demoted people around him who understood the creative process and put other number people in charge of everything. It's literally all he has to hang his hat on and it's not exactly a secret he is out of his depth in all other aspects within this company. Anyone - investors, fans, politicians - can clearly see it.

Fans hate him, politicians see him as a punching bag but as long as those numbers look good, Wall Street will give him a pass.

But... when he has to explain how the only thing he's allegedly good at isn't looking so great, there is nothing to divert people's attention with.

This Bob and his side kick Christine just tried to smile their way through the numbers on that call. Commentators zeroed right in on it pointing out how the two of them seemed bizarrely chipper and upbeat while giving numbers they had to know were going to rattle Wall Street - like they were somehow detached from reality about it all.

News flash to Bob - pretending to be happy while giving out bad news isn't story telling. There's got to be a Master Class you can watch that'll help with this. Maybe the one on acting by Natalie Portman or the one by Richard Branson on Disruptive Entrepreneurship?

Heck, maybe Christine could take the one by Steve Martin on comedy so she can come up with some quips to throw out that'll actually make people laugh instead of alienating a portion of their consumer base.

Boy this aged well... and quickly.

Even if I do say so myself

 

[Lilofan]

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

Irony that layoffs are talked about and it starts with Chapek.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

I unfortunately have reason to believe that this thread is about to become relevant again in the near future.

 

[Ayla]

I unfortunately have reason to believe that this thread is about to become relevant again in the near future.

So customer service is about to get even worse. Great.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I unfortunately have reason to believe that this thread is about to become relevant again in the near future.

Shouldn't affect parks fans much, if at all. So that's a silver lining at least.

So customer service is about to get even worse. Great.

No.

 

[Sorcerer Mickey]

I unfortunately have reason to believe that this thread is about to become relevant again in the near future.

What might give you that idea?

 

[MagicHappens1971]

So customer service is about to get even worse. Great.

Disneys most recent layoffs/hiring freeze doesn’t effect front line/ops CMs.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Shouldn't affect parks fans much, if at all. So that's a silver lining at least.


No.

Yeah, I don't expect guest facing CMs to be impacted here. I do expect parks will be impacted though; folks making magic behind the scenes.

What might give you that idea?

lol, hypotheticals in Deadline or The Verge are one thing.

Real life evidence of impacts to friends and even family, very different.

Disneys most recent layoffs/hiring freeze doesn’t effect front line/ops CMs.

Disney hasn't done a layoff yet. But yes, unlikely guest facing roles are impacted.

 

[MisterPenguin]

What might give you that idea?

"More layoffs"?

Other than 2 execs, what layoffs have taken place?

Disney's help wanted site posts dozens of openings every week ever since Chapek announced a hiring freeze (and mind you, he didn't announce lay-offs, and Iger reiterated the freeze and did not say 'lay-offs.')

We haven't even seen the post-Christmas layoffs in park staff we normally saw in the pre-prandemic times.

Have there been a bunch of Disney employees posting on social media they were laid off?

Has Disney communicated to the unions plans to have lay-offs?

Has Disney communicated to FL or CA plans to have large amounts of lay-offs?

I'm not saying lay-offs can't happen, but lay-offs were never the announced plan, and they haven't happened yet AFAIK.

I wouldn't call a handful of exec losing their jobs because of a reorganization a significant lay-off event.

 

[Petertink1832]

Yeah, I don't expect guest facing CMs to be impacted here. I do expect parks will be impacted though; folks making magic behind the scenes.


lol, hypotheticals in Deadline or The Verge are one thing.

Real life evidence of impacts to friends and even family, very different.


Disney hasn't done a layoff yet. But yes, unlikely guest facing roles are impacted.

Do you have reason to believe with will hit WDI and DPEP like previous layoffs? Weren’t they already been hit hard during covid?

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Do you have reason to believe with will hit WDI and DPEP like previous layoffs? Weren’t they already been hit hard during covid?

Those roles were hit because of park closures. This is a restructuring/consolidation across the company; which a lot of companies are doing right now. I don't know how hard DPEP will be hit but it's pretty safe to say that guest facing roles and ops roles likely won't be impacted. But there is a ton more than just running the park day to day that happens on property at WDW. All of the digital experiences, marketing, etc. That's where I worry impacts will occur.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I unfortunately have reason to believe that this thread is about to become relevant again in the near future.

I don’t see anyway that doesn’t happen. The writing is on the wall.

So customer service is about to get even worse. Great.

It sucks anyway…it’s cheaper that way

And as long as people buy after hours to “experience” going on mine train and Pooh…there you go.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don’t see anyway that doesn’t happen. The writing is on the wall.

It sucks anyway…it’s cheaper that way

And as long as people buy after hours to “experience” going on mine train and Pooh…there you go.

Just think how much more they can automate. They started with the picture boxes at meet and greets

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just think how much more they can automate. They started with the picture boxes at meet and greets

They’ve been trying to reduce labor/consolidate for almost 40 years.

Destination: Disney…an obscure and interesting tale…

There were mock-ups of having “smart scanners” that checked you in when you walked into the hotel…before the technology actually existed to do it.

Amazing…actually. Musta been big TNG fans

 

[MisterPenguin]

Those roles were hit because of park closures. This is a restructuring/consolidation across the company; which a lot of companies are doing right now. I don't know how hard DPEP will be hit but it's pretty safe to say that guest facing roles and ops roles likely won't be impacted. But there is a ton more than just running the park day to day that happens on property at WDW. All of the digital experiences, marketing, etc. That's where I worry impacts will occur.

Tech companies are laying off hundreds to thousands.

But this is the big Wall Street debate: Are streaming companies Big Tech or Big Media?

Being Big Media may insulate Disney from the same type of layoffs.

 

[Lilofan]

Just think how much more they can automate. They started with the picture boxes at meet and greets

At Coronado we saw a motorized robot by the Cabanas buildings go in the quiet pool to vacuum the dirt at the bottom of the pool one evening.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

Tech companies are laying off hundreds to thousands.

But this is the big Wall Street debate: Are streaming companies Big Tech or Big Media?

Being Big Media many insulate Disney from the same type of layoffs.

DS suffers from the same issues as the recent Big Tech companies doing layoffs. Also, companies appear to be doing layoffs simply because it's a convenient time to (can do so right now without negative PR); not even necessarily because they need to. Disney's restructuring elsewhere will be a little different but I do expect DS to take a blow unfortunately.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

At Coronado we saw a motorized robot by the Cabanas buildings go in the quiet pool to vacuum the dirt at the bottom of the pool one evening.

Yeah…don’t think we can say that’s “dehumanizing”…

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

DS suffers from the same issues as the recent Big Tech companies doing layoffs. Also, companies appear to be doing layoffs simply because it's a convenient time to (can do so right now without negative PR); not even necessarily because they need to. Disney's restructuring elsewhere will be a little different but I do expect DS to take a blow unfortunately.

Indeed…

What’s not being said - because why would it? - is there is a backlash/crackdown on labor that is a reaction to “too many gains” during the plague…
It’s on all fronts.

So for 6 months it’s been assumed a recession is coming…so business seizes on that to burn down some forest. Typical.

The announcement of an “unexpected” rise in spending and gdp in Q4 may have them ease off a little…but it will fall again in Q1 and the plan will go active again

 

[celluloid]

Just think how much more they can automate. They started with the picture boxes at meet and greets

Mobile Check Out helps too.