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

[tommyhawkins]

Disney fans have a parasocial relationship with the CEO so all they have to do is have Chapek swing away, then whoever replaces him will be an actual Disney hero... vanquishing the evil and all that. Then they can reverse a few of Chapek's changes and bam! Instant popularity. Chapek meanwhile will go to his "doom" (millions of dollars in retirement money).

But that's not going to happen. And even if Chapek were to go, it would not be because of the decisions made by D'Amaro in the completely different division of the company to the one in which Wall Street are concerned about. Whether anyone on here likes anything done by D'Amaro the past few years, the division is financially sound. Whoever his replacement will be would be someone tasked to make Streaming work
There is not a second subset of DisneyPlusTwitter who are deeply upset with decisions he's making about the Streamer, even if there was popularity doesnt mean when it comes to nervous shareholders panic selling their shares because they think the CEO is being wasteful.
Let's acknowledge what this memo was, a strong clear message to Wall Street that they will be fiscally responsible and cut areas of DMED that aren't helping the bottom line.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Execs aren't flying at all, travel is frozen. That's the whole point.

Well, except for that little get-together down in Florida recently with Slappie, all the parks leaders, studio heads, etc.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Well, except for that little get-together down in Florida recently with Slappie, all the parks leaders, studio heads, etc.

The "no more travel" memo was sent on Friday. I don't see any contradiction that there was a board retreat two weeks prior to the "no more travel" memo.

Regardless, they didn't cut travel to zero, they said "business travel should now be limited to essential trips only."

 

[HauntedPirate]

The "no more travel" memo was sent on Friday. I don't see any contradiction that there was a board retreat two weeks prior to the "no more travel" memo.

Ah, I misunderstood, then. It sounded like the travel ban was already in place.

My last employer was all about "cost savings" for employees but yet allowed exces to travel literally anywhere in the world because it was "business-related". We couldn't get paid training to advance the technology used by the business but there were members of the Executive Committee who were in India for a month "for business".

 

[Nubs70]

I have a lot of pages to catch up on, but my thoughts as they stand.

Chapek is and has always been in over his head. D'Amaro is in over his head where he is. Everything they are doing is reactive instead of proactive. They need to restore what was, not cut further to reduce the experience - squeezing harder will not result in increased profits. This further exemplifies the fact that neither have any understanding of what made the theme parks special in the first place.

TWDC has always needed someone with vision running the company, either alone or in tandem with a numbers person. Eisner/Wells was that last tandem. Eisner still cared about the parks and had some kind of vision about them, despite his (many) missteps post-1994. Iger was an empty suit whose "vision" was offering up advice like, "More trees". Chapek is a crap peddler, nothing more, nothing less. On top of that, he and the CFO openly say things that are quite possibly some of the dumbest things ever uttered by anyone in a leadership position at TWDC.

This company needs an enema of everyone put into place since Iger was elevated to CEO. They have destroyed the creative juices within the company. They run it by the numbers. Great for a company that isn't creative and can be run by the numbers, but detrimental for a company that literally created some of the very things they squeeze for more and more profits without regard for the long-term impact.

This company needs some people at the top with vision and creativity. Chapek and McCarthy, amongst others, are neither. There may be people internally who could fit the bill, but I have a feeling that the Bob's have driven out damn near everyone who could take on the job and do it better than those two clowns have.

WDW leadership needs to really understand what the revenue generating unit of the parks actually is.

My hypothesis is that the revenue generating unit is not simply a single business unit but the entirety of the experience.

The ticket booth, merch and food cash register, and hotels are revenue generating units. Without the experience behind these revenue generating entities, sales are a short lived activity.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Ah, I misunderstood, then. It sounded like the travel ban was already in place.

My last employer was all about "cost savings" for employees but yet allowed exces to travel literally anywhere in the world because it was "business-related". We couldn't get paid training to advance the technology used by the business but there were members of the Executive Committee who were in India for a month "for business".

In most functional areas, Disney defines "executives" as Director-level and above. There are whole armies of these people, numbering in the hundreds or thousands. Segment Presidents and EVPs are still going to travel, I'm sure, but all of the middle-management execs have been neutered.

 

[Disone]

I'm not guessing.

Okay....... At least you're humble and open to the possibility that you could be wrong.

 

[celluloid]

WDW leadership needs to really understand what the revenue generating unit of the parks actually is.

My hypothesis is that the revenue generating unit is not simply a single business unit but the entirety of the experience.

The ticket booth, merch and food cash register, and hotels are revenue generating units. Without the experience behind these revenue generating entities, sales are a short lived activity.

These are good points. Disney theme parks have always been a premium experience for your premium price. If I have to wait longer to pay and then longer to recieved my food, I am not a mom or dad willing to pay for toys my kids want on Mainstreet at the end of the night.
There seems to be a bad cycle going on.

 

[el_super]

WDW leadership needs to really understand what the revenue generating unit of the parks actually is.

Apparently they do. Parks and Resorts revenue topped 28 billion for the year. Their best year ever.

This isn't an issue of the parks not making money.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I mostly assumed this would be at the corporate / office level. The parks already have staffing issues.

But there's also a lot of hysteria in this thread, as if Disney is the only company currently in a hiring freeze / termination period...

This is happening everywhere, with every big company.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I mostly assumed this would be at the corporate / office level. The parks already have staffing issues.

But there's also a lot of hysteria in this thread, as if Disney is the only company currently in a hiring freeze / termination period...

This is happening everywhere, with every big company.

Wow, you and I typically disagree about everything so three cheers for layoffs bringing people together.

That's bipartisanship you can believe in.

 

[bcoachable]

I have a lot of pages to catch up on, but my thoughts as they stand.

Chapek is and has always been in over his head. D'Amaro is in over his head where he is. Everything they are doing is reactive instead of proactive. They need to restore what was, not cut further to reduce the experience - squeezing harder will not result in increased profits. This further exemplifies the fact that neither have any understanding of what made the theme parks special in the first place.

TWDC has always needed someone with vision running the company, either alone or in tandem with a numbers person. Eisner/Wells was that last tandem. Eisner still cared about the parks and had some kind of vision about them, despite his (many) missteps post-1994. Iger was an empty suit whose "vision" was offering up advice like, "More trees". Chapek is a crap peddler, nothing more, nothing less. On top of that, he and the CFO openly say things that are quite possibly some of the dumbest things ever uttered by anyone in a leadership position at TWDC.

This company needs an enema of everyone put into place since Iger was elevated to CEO. They have destroyed the creative juices within the company. They run it by the numbers. Great for a company that isn't creative and can be run by the numbers, but detrimental for a company that literally created some of the very things they squeeze for more and more profits without regard for the long-term impact.

This company needs some people at the top with vision and creativity. Chapek and McCarthy, amongst others, are neither. There may be people internally who could fit the bill, but I have a feeling that the Bob's have driven out damn near everyone who could take on the job and do it better than those two clowns have.

Wow!

 

[HauntedPirate]

It’s become very clear that he and the board hold a very deliberate role…and it’s not to provide practical stewardship.

I always feared things would go this way and we’ve crossed zero barrier…

It’s ALL on Iger. His legacy is degrading by the day.

You did this Bob…you didn’t learn the lessons of your own history and ran like a coward.

Have fun writing another 100 page book

There's a reason I said his "book" should really have been nothing more than a 3x5 index card or two. "Buy stuff!","Cut Costs!", etc.

 

[bcoachable]

Ah, I misunderstood, then. It sounded like the travel ban was already in place.

My last employer was all about "cost savings" for employees but yet allowed exces to travel literally anywhere in the world because it was "business-related". We couldn't get paid training to advance the technology used by the business but there were members of the Executive Committee who were in India for a month "for business".

Ha - that’s what “zoom” was invented for- heck worked great for schools across America during the Covid lock down, didn’t it? - oh wait…

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You know you love it.

…do you need to ask?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'm not guessing.

Standing on this affirmation is about as safe of a bet as betting on the longevity of Daisy Ridley’s career

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

We pay for experience, and we still can't find it. Even with our hiring freeze, we are still trying to fill over 300 engineering roles.

That’s kinda what I was trying to say…but then I got “millennialed”

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Apparently they do. Parks and Resorts revenue topped 28 billion for the year. Their best year ever.

This isn't an issue of the parks not making money.

Where is the profit made, Friedman?

 

[mkt]

That’s kinda what I was trying to say…but then I got “millennialed”

Xennial here. Gen X cynic meets millennial tech native.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Wow, you and I typically disagree about everything so three cheers for layoffs bringing people together.

That's bipartisanship you can believe in.

I mean, I hate layoffs. I hate all the recession talk. I hate stock markets and quarterly earnings and this mindset of making every quarter better than the next (which usually means cutting costs).

BUT,

This isn’t a Disney only problem. And hiring freezes / lay offs are happening globally.

Companies are cutting back on projects like crazy, all over.