Layoffs underway at Walt Disney World

[Nubs70]

Or you know...what literally everyone else in the thread is saying about an internal reorganization, even from some folks who may have internal knowledge of the situation.

But you do you.

#stockbuyback
#thanksespn

And why get rid of bloat? Cause your numbers suck and financial performance metrics must be met.

Firing people isn't done as an exercise it is done for an outcome.

Why so made at Ford? Don't be mad at him, he is just a few steps ahead of you.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

And why get rid of bloat? Cause your numbers suck and financial performance metrics must be met.

Firing people isn't done as an exercise it is done for an outcome.

Why so made at Ford? Don't be mad at him, he is just a few steps ahead of you.

I believe @jakeman annoyance stems from the fact the person in question spouts the same old reasoning in every thread.

 

[ford91exploder]

Disney is in a ugly transition from a company based on high touch customer service to finance based.

Example Vornado company is whats left of the Penn Central Railroad while the 'bad assets' like trains and stations were transferred to AMTRAK and CONRAIL. PC had vast real estate holdings which were transferred to a company best known for making fans

 

[MisterPenguin]

Why so made at Ford?

Because he lies. All the time.

Because he has a very clear anti-Disney bias. And he hasn't been to a Disney park in decades (or maybe he has once or twice... his story keeps changing, cf. "he lies"). And yet here he is on a Disney fan forum trying his best to make Disney look bad in dozens and dozens of posts every single day.

And he has no real knowledge of what's happening at Disney, either in their offices or parks. He just repeats what he sees posted here... but only the bad stuff (cf. "anti-Disney" bias). But he posts as if he had inside knowledge telling us the intent of executives for which he has no source.

And his criticism always comes around to the same points he makes in just about every single thread in which he participates: The stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And Chapek is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. In fact, every executive is Evil except for the good ones who are now gone and dead. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil.

I'm mad at people who aren't mad at him.

 

[GoofGoof]

I work for a large corporation that is going through a similar restructuring. I can tell you from the prospective of an employee going through it that it sucks. There’s a lot of fear and anxiety from everyone not knowing if their job is safe or not. There is a personal element that is lost to people looking at it from the outside as a simple business decision. These are people with families and mortgages and school loans and medical problems who could potentially lose their source of income. Seeing friends and co-workers who you have worked with for years being let go is difficult and it’s a big drain on morale. Even those who end up safe have some level of guilt even if they had no say in the final decisions.

All this being said, there very well may be a legit need for this type of restructuring. I’m not familiar enough with WDW operations to know if that’s the case or not. If there is a need for change you just have to hope that the people calling the shots know what they are doing and build a more efficient structure that actually works better as well as of course cutting costs. My company hired one of these consulting firms filled with 30 year old PHDs who never worked a real job in their lives to advise them on a more efficient structure. It’s been a bit of a train wreck but luckily we have some strong leaders who pushed back against some of the nonsense these people were pushing and the end product looks like it will be a lot better than it would have been if they followed all of their advice.

For those of you directly impacted by this I can sincerely say I know what you are going through and how disruptive it can be. Hang in there and if you make it out the other end hopefully you find that the new structure is more efficient.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

Because he lies. All the time.

Because he has a very clear anti-Disney bias. And he hasn't been to a Disney park in decades (or maybe he has once or twice... his story keeps changing, cf. "he lies"). And yet here he is on a Disney fan forum trying his best to make Disney look bad in dozens and dozens of posts every single day.

And he has no real knowledge of what's happening at Disney, either in their offices or parks. He just repeats what he sees posted here... but only the bad stuff (cf. "anti-Disney" bias). But he posts as if he had inside knowledge telling us the intent of executives for which he has no source.

And his criticism always comes around to the same points he makes in just about every single thread in which he participates: The stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And Chapek is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. In fact, every executive is Evil except for the good ones who are now gone and dead. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil.

I'm mad at people who aren't mad at him.

You forgot ESPN

 

[LAKid53]

Because he lies. All the time.

Because he has a very clear anti-Disney bias. And he hasn't been to a Disney park in decades (or maybe he has once or twice... his story keeps changing, cf. "he lies"). And yet here he is on a Disney fan forum trying his best to make Disney look bad in dozens and dozens of posts every single day.

And he has no real knowledge of what's happening at Disney, either in their offices or parks. He just repeats what he sees posted here... but only the bad stuff (cf. "anti-Disney" bias). But he posts as if he had inside knowledge telling us the intent of executives for which he has no source.

And his criticism always comes around to the same points he makes in just about every single thread in which he participates: The stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And Chapek is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil. In fact, every executive is Evil except for the good ones who are now gone and dead. And the stock buybacks are evil. And Iger is Evil. And the stock buybacks are evil.

I'm mad at people who aren't mad at him.

And that's why he's on my Ignore list.....

 

[LAKid53]

I survived the merger of 2 large state agencies back in the early 1990s. It wasn't fun for those of us in the trenches as we watched upper management of both agencies jocky for control. It looked as though few really gave any credence to the dissimilar roles of each agency and how each functioned. The larger, but less financially resourced (and with a not very good reputation among stakeholders, i.e., the citizens) acted as though it was a takeover. And we in the smaller, but with twice the financial resources, agreed with them. It was poorly executed and left a lot of bad feelings between employees. Which, 6 years later and a new agency head, still were grumbling. So the new agency head sent a memo to every staff member saying "the merger was 6 years ago. Get over it!".

And nothing was done to inform employees who would lose their jobs in terms of placement and sufficient notice for them to find other jobs.

There's a way to handle layoffs and make them less painful...and then there's how those two agencies did it. I can sympathize with those CMs facing unemployment, especially at this time of year.

 

[larryz]

I work for a large corporation that is going through a similar restructuring. I can tell you from the prospective of an employee going through it that it sucks. There’s a lot of fear and anxiety from everyone not knowing if their job is safe or not. There is a personal element that is lost to people looking at it from the outside as a simple business decision. These are people with families and mortgages and school loans and medical problems who could potentially lose their source of income. Seeing friends and co-workers who you have worked with for years being let go is difficult and it’s a big drain on morale. Even those who end up safe have some level of guilt even if they had no say in the final decisions.
...
For those of you directly impacted by this I can sincerely say I know what you are going through and how disruptive it can be. Hang in there and if you make it out the other end hopefully you find that the new structure is more efficient.

Having gone thru a two-year round of "downsizing" myself, you're absolutely right. And anyone in a unit potentially affected by such a cycle should, at the second such "firing frenzy," start shopping resumes and calling up network contacts. In my experience, if it happens twice, it'll happen again and again...

 

[Phil12]

Robots and higher ticket prices.

...and use a lower wattage strobe light on the Yeti.

 

[Tom Morrow]

A very, very significant portion of WDW leadership are very bad people, like cartoonishly bad people, and I do not feel bad whatsoever if they get canned. Sadly, it will not be them, it will be the people who actually care and want to do good things that get thrown under the bus... by the bad ones.

Oh, the stories I could share about WDW leadership.

 

[Walter Elias Disney]

Orlando Layoffs Pile Up - 145 Laid Off
https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando...-why-disney-plans-to-lay-off-145-workers.html

They are reporting massive layoffs unlike any ever seen at Disney coming in mid-December.

 

[bates1960]

Where in this story does it reference mass layoffs in mid-December?

Orlando Layoffs Pile Up - 145 Laid Off
https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando...-why-disney-plans-to-lay-off-145-workers.html

They are reporting massive layoffs unlike any ever seen at Disney coming in mid-December.

 

[Nubs70]

I work for a large corporation that is going through a similar restructuring. I can tell you from the prospective of an employee going through it that it sucks. There’s a lot of fear and anxiety from everyone not knowing if their job is safe or not. There is a personal element that is lost to people looking at it from the outside as a simple business decision. These are people with families and mortgages and school loans and medical problems who could potentially lose their source of income. Seeing friends and co-workers who you have worked with for years being let go is difficult and it’s a big drain on morale. Even those who end up safe have some level of guilt even if they had no say in the final decisions.

All this being said, there very well may be a legit need for this type of restructuring. I’m not familiar enough with WDW operations to know if that’s the case or not. If there is a need for change you just have to hope that the people calling the shots know what they are doing and build a more efficient structure that actually works better as well as of course cutting costs. My company hired one of these consulting firms filled with 30 year old PHDs who never worked a real job in their lives to advise them on a more efficient structure. It’s been a bit of a train wreck but luckily we have some strong leaders who pushed back against some of the nonsense these people were pushing and the end product looks like it will be a lot better than it would have been if they followed all of their advice.

For those of you directly impacted by this I can sincerely say I know what you are going through and how disruptive it can be. Hang in there and if you make it out the other end hopefully you find that the new structure is more efficient.

Have you watched Office Space since going through this transformation? You will gain a new appreciation.for.the movie.

As for the consultants, become a bobblehead, nod and agree with what they say, fix it after they leave. To fight is to put a target on yourself.

 

[AidenWDW81]

Hi,

I’ve been reading these boards for years. Some of these people are awful, ignore them.

We will get through these layoffs. Many people who got laid off the last time returned not long after. It’s terrifying but if you are determined to continue working at WDW then you can make it happen.

If you’re laid off then spend some time holed up in your room and when you’re ready you reapply and get yourself back on your feet.

Hi all,

I'm a current GEM at WDW. Reading some of these comments is painful. Please don't assume that we "sit in an office" all day. We are given so much to do from upper leadership, that many of us stay well past our 9.5 hour call time (of which we are only paid for 8 hours of). We struggle to find time to sit down and eat in a day.

It's awful knowing that my days at Disney are soon to be numbered. I don't even know what to do with myself.

 

[peter11435]

Hi all,

I'm a current GEM at WDW. Reading some of these comments is painful. Please don't assume that we "sit in an office" all day. We are given so much to do from upper leadership, that many of us stay well past our 9.5 hour call time (of which we are only paid for 8 hours of). We struggle to find time to sit down and eat in a day.

It's awful knowing that my days at Disney are soon to be numbered. I don't even know what to do with myself.

When I referred to leaders sitting in their offices I was not referring to GEM level.

 

[AidenWDW81]

So who were you referring to, exactly?

Many of you speak as if you work at Disney alongside these people. Unless you put on a name tag each day please stop pretending to know everything and justify why it’s ok to have thousands of people fired because a few people inside the company makes some decisions you don’t like. These are people’s livelihoods you’re all dismissing simply because you don’t like the color of a new trash can. It’s a vacation destination to you but a source of income and stability to those that work there. You’re spewing out these rumors causing panic within the company and for some reason some of you seem excited that good, talented, dedicated people may be walked out of a job.

If anyone has actual, credible info then feel free to share. Otherwise, please stop speculating and assuming you could run things better.

When I referred to leaders sitting in their offices I was not referring to GEM level.

 

[Walter Elias Disney]

Where in this story does it reference mass layoffs in mid-December?

thelayoff.com

 

[AidenWDW81]

thelayoff.com

How are they related? We are discussing WDW. The Biz is referring to the 145 laid off in Orlando. Thelayoff is saying thousands within editorial and reporting because of poor coverage of our “president”.

What am I missing?

 

[IanDLBZF]

How are they related? We are discussing WDW. The Biz is referring to the 145 laid off in Orlando. Thelayoff is saying thousands within editorial and reporting because of poor coverage of our “president”.

What am I missing?

They must be referring to ABC News as well.