WDI Layoffs

[Andrew C]

Joe R and Tom F were not laid off.

Cool. Well...cool about Joe. I don't know much about Tom.

 

[jt04]

Joe R and Tom F were not laid off.

Considering Joe was selected by Iger for his signature projects, that would only be news to the spirited one. And his followers.

 

[PhotoDave219]

How awkward to even dignify it with a response?

And then the response is essentially *shrug*

All kinds of awkward.

I like Peter Venkmin's response better.

 

[jt04]

Seems odd with a few huge projects coming up.

Iger reforms the last division. I expect equal success as other previous reorgs of Disney under his tenure.

The Iger Sanctions, if you will.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Joe R and Tom F were not laid off.

Great. Now can everyone take a step away from the ledge......

 

[ABQ]

Feel bad for those let go, hopefully they are swept up soon. However, the way this info hit the public is just another example of social media once again proving to be a bastion of highly vetted and well edited breaking news.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Too bad Fitzgerald is still around. He may be a nice guy personally - I don't know him- but he's the king of screens.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Well, they can't call it a retirement unless he willingly leaves the company. He could stand there all day 'till they fire him or lay him off, but they can't force him to retire.

If he truly doesn't want to go, well, I hope he lets them fire him. Make them look bad for it.

In my book, Tony Baxter willingly left the company, because they didn't actually kick him out. He left. And the history books will forever mark it as a retirement.

Executives "retire" all the time. It's nothing new or unusual and playing ball can have benefits. In Baxter's case he ensured himself the formal recognition he desired that likely would have been withheld out of spite.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Too bad Fitzgerald is still around. He may be a nice guy personally - I don't know him- but he's the king of screens.

No, he's a beachboy.

 

[RobidaFlats]

No, he's a beachboy.

He is not a beachboy! He's studying marine biology there on the floating city.

 

[marni1971]

No, he's a beachboy.

He is not a beachboy! He's studying marine biology there on the floating city.

I bet he will still miss the party.

 

[Sonconato]

 

[No Name]

Well the part about Joe (and Tom) is a relief.

I do want to say that I very much feel for the many imagineers who were indeed let go. I hope they find new jobs and go on to have successful careers. And more importantly, good lives and good futures.

Executives "retire" all the time. It's nothing new or unusual and playing ball can have benefits. In Baxter's case he ensured himself the formal recognition he desired that likely would have been withheld out of spite.

Oh sure, of course there are benefits to retiring when they want you out. In Tony's case, he got the window on Main Street, gets to go and speak at their events, and more. Even Meg got a window! So there would've been many sacrifices had he not voluntarily left. But in the end it was his decision. He left the company. That was my point, that they couldn't force Joe to retire or resign, they could only convince him to.

Again, despite the relief about Joe, it is sad that many lost their jobs.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Say what you want about Feige being just a manager of Marvel, but do not insult the legacy of Kathleen Kennedy. This woman is an icon in Hollywood and has overseen and helped create, YES CREATE, some of the most memorable movies of the last 30+ years. She is respected by all who work for her and with her.

Quoting this because it's true. Kathleen is an unbelievably talented individual who absolutely gets it. She gets all aspects of the industry she's in and personally I hope one day her role expands. She would absolutely do right by the whole company. She is a very powerful person in Hollywood, as is her husband.

For those doubting her:

Thoughts on Kathleen Kennedy?

Very talented. Plays well with others. Not afraid to push back when she wants things done right.

But Disney will never name a woman head of the company ... you'll have a black Presi ... I mean you'll have a gay President first.

Disney chases away talented women execs, it doesn't nurture them and it certainly doesn't like having them in positions of power, let alone ultimate power.

They realize this, which is why they made such a big deal about Chappie's replacement last week.

But if you're asking me if she has any chance at the top spot, then I have to say absolutely not.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Micechat is reporting 450 imagineers outed.

 

[aladdin2007]

Is Kathy Mangum still over WDW projects?

 

[toolsnspools]

I thought they were hoping Joe would leave on his own when they gave him GotG. He looked like he just swallowed a cat when he made that announcement. You can tell his enthusiasm for that overlay was near 0. I do follow him on Twitter though, and he posts about 4 airports a week that he's travelling through. I'm sure his travel budget is sky high. Eventually he'll have to learn how to be creative without living on an airplane.

 

[lazyboy97o]

A lot of the travel Rhode does is to Orlando, where a massive project is being built. That requires a physical presence. The only way to avoid that sort of presence is to move all responsibility to a local team. That strategy reduces travel but means no designing once and building twice as is the plan for Star Wars Land.

Quality research on foreign vernacular design is also something that has significant gaps in its documentation. So the idea of using Google or even going to the library is not the only solution. Not to mention the je ne sais quoi of an experience.

 

[Rteetz]

Dusty from micechat said he expects even more layoffs soon...

 

[GhostHost1000]

So how will Disney recover from this moving forward? Call 1-800-rent-a-temp ?