Disney become the latest company to report deep job cuts, saying it will cut 7000 jobs from its global workforce.
Disney had about 220,000 workers as of October 1, of which approximately 166,000 were employed in the US.
A cut of 7000 jobs represents about 3 per cent of its global workforce.
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“While this is necessary to address the challenges we’re facing today, I do not make this decision lightly,” CEO Bob Iger, who returned to lead the company in November when the board fired Bob Chapek as the company’s leader, said.
“I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide, and I’m mindful of the personal impact of these changes.”
The job cuts come as part of a cost-cutting effort also announced Wednesday.
Iger said the company is aiming for $8 billion of cost savings across the company, with $3.61 billion of that coming from “non-content” operations, such as movies and television shows.
The cuts come as the company announced better-than-expected financial results.
Disney revenue in the quarter rose 8 per cent to $50 billion, edging past estimates of $34 billion from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
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But earnings, while slightly lower than a year ago, shot past forecasts, coming in at US 99 cents a share excluding special items.
That’s down from the $US1.06 per share it earned on that basis a year earlier, but far better than the forecast of 78 cents a share.
Iger also took steps to reward shareholders, while Disney employees will feel pain from the job cut announcement.
The company had suspended its dividend payments during the pandemic. Iger announced it expects that to return.
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Timeline of US technology giants slashing jobs
February 2023
Zoom: The video-conferencing service is cutting about 1300 jobs, or approximately 15 per cent of its workforce.
Dell: The computer maker reduced its payroll by 5 per cent, or about 6600 jobs, saying that the steps it’s taken to stay ahead of eroding market conditions are no longer enough.
January 2023
Amazon: The e-commerce company said it must cut about 18,000 positions. That’s just a fraction of its 1.5 million-strong global workforce.
Salesforce: The company lays off 10 per cent of its workforce, about 8000 employees.
Coinbase: The cryptocurrency trading platform cuts approximately 20 per cent of its workforce, or about 950 jobs, in a second round of layoffs in less than a year.
Microsoft: The software company said it will cut about 10,000 jobs, almost 5 per cent of its workforce.
Google: The search engine giant becomes the most recent in the industry to say it must adjust, saying 12,000 workers, or about 6 per cent of its workforce, would be let go.
Spotify: The music streaming service is cutting 6 per cent of its global workforce. It did not give a specific number of job losses. Spotify reported in its latest annual report that it had about 6600 employees, which implies that 400 jobs are being axed.
SAP: Germany-based SAP, Europe’s biggest software company, said it is cutting up to 3000 jobs worldwide, or about 2.5 per cent of its workforce, after a shop drop in profits.
PayPal: The digital payments company says it will trim about 7 per cent of its total workforce, or about 2000 full-time workers, as it contends with a challenging environment.
IBM: Profits fell in the most recent quarter at the technology and consulting company, but it said the 3900 job cuts announced in late January were due to earlier sale of parts of its business. IBM sold its health care data business last year and in 2021, it spun off its legacy tech division in 2021.
November 2022
Twitter: About half of the social media platform’s staff of 7500 was let go after it was acquired by the billionaire CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk.
Lyft: The ride-hailing service said it was cutting 13 per cent of its workforce, almost 700 employees.
Meta: The parent company of Facebook laid off 11,000 people, about 13 per cent of its workforce.
HP: The computer maker cited economic challenges in announcing job cuts of as many as 6000 positions over the next three years. Sales of PCs suffered the most severe drop-off ever as a surge of tech buying by millions working from home began to fade.
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