Shares of Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) inches up in pre session on Monday after the firm began its second round of layoffs, and several streaming industry leaders were reportedly let go as CEO Bob Iger bets big on revamping the Disney+ service while saving billions in operating costs.
Disney’s second round of layoffs began on Monday, and the business was anticipated to lose thousands of employees through Thursday, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
Iger, who rejoined the entertainment industry in November, stated during a February earnings call that the firm expected to reduce its payroll by 7,000 people as part of a new restructuring plan that included three rounds of layoffs.
Iger stated that the company’s restructuring aims to save $5.5 billion in costs across the board. The strategic reorganization will include three primary business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.
Disney+ is a division of Disney Entertainment and a profitable portion of the firm.
Bloomberg reported on April 27 that Jerrell Jimerson, Sean Curtis, and Jaya Kolhatkar, who had key positions in Disney+ and Hulu’s product, technology, and analytics departments, were let go during the second wave of layoffs.
Also let go were members of marketing a business development teams for the streaming division. Iger has stated that streaming is his “No. 1 priority,” and he is working to improve the product he offered in 2019. The program garnered 10 million customers in a single day when it started in November 2019. The CEO left the firm in 2020, and the service has expanded significantly in customer numbers since then.
When Iger stepped down, Bob Chapek took over and spent billions of dollars on original series production to attract even more subscribers to the streaming platform.
According to Bloomberg, one of Chapek’s initiatives was to outsource project release authority to his deputy Kareem Daniel and technology executive Michael Paull.
When Iger returned in November 2022, he overturned several of Chapek’s initiatives, forcing Paull and Jeremy Doig, the streaming chief technology officer, to resign.
The majority of the staff that designed Disney+ has already left, barely four years after it started, according to the website.
Disney did not immediately comment to Fox News Digital’s inquiry concerning the report and layoffs. The round of layoffs last week was the second of three, with the first taking place in March. In a March message to staff, Iger stated that the following two rounds will be held in April and May.
