Disney execs urged to identify layoff candidates, with 4K job cuts expected by April: report

After announcing a plan to cut nearly 7,000 jobs, Disney is said to be instructing managers to propose budget cuts and make lists of employees to be laid off in the coming weeks.

It’s unclear whether Disney will start layoffs in small waves or cut thousands of employees at once, but the company will announce that at least 4,000 current employees will be out of work sometime in April. according to Business Insider.

The pay cuts were announced by CEO Bob Iger during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in February as Disney seeks to save billions of dollars by restructuring the company, cutting content and cutting payroll.

Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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According to Disney’s Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy, the overhaul is expected to save $5.5 billion, reduce $1.5 billion in operating costs and reduce another $3 billion by reducing non-sports content.

The entertainment giant also said it would step back from general adult entertainment and is reviewing options on what to do with Hulu, the streaming service that specializes in general entertainment shows and is two-thirds owned by Disney and one-third owned is owned by Comcast Corp.

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Under the terms of Disney’s purchase of its stake in Hulu in 2019, each party has the right to force a sale of the company beginning early next year.

The planned job cuts were announced ahead of Disney’s annual meeting on April 3. On Thursday, the activist shareholder of the National Legal and Policy Center urged investors to oppose the full list of board nominees at the meeting, arguing they were “takeovers.” which ushered in the entertainment giant’s worst year since the 1970s.”

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The group accused the company of losing money by damaging its brand “with the pursuit of a far-left political agenda” and said the company needed to “go vigilant” to restore its reputation as a family-friendly company. They pointed to Disney’s opposition to the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, misleadingly labeled critics’ “don’t say gay” bill and opposed it Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as evidence of poor decisions to engage in politics that harm the company.

Robbie Whelan of FOX Business contributed to this report.