One major entertainment giant is slashing many jobs.
Disney is reducing its workforce by hundreds across multiple TV and film departments as it shifts its focus toward growing its streaming services. According to a Disney spokesperson who spoke with FOX Business, the layoffs will affect employees in areas such as film and television marketing, TV publicity, casting and development, and corporate financial operations.
The company emphasized that it is committed to managing its operations efficiently while continuing to support creativity and innovation. The recent job cuts, announced on Monday, are part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations. However, Disney has taken a careful and targeted approach to keep the number of affected employees as low as possible, ensuring that entire teams are not eliminated.
This move follows similar layoffs earlier in the year when Disney’s ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks reduced their workforce by nearly 200 employees, about 6% of their total staff, with most cuts occurring within ABC News.
Meanwhile, Disney is advancing plans to launch a new direct-to-consumer streaming service named ESPN, building on the popularity of its sports network. This is part of a highly competitive streaming landscape that includes major players like Warner Bros. Discovery, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. Since the pandemic accelerated streaming consumption, these companies have heavily invested in original programming and exclusive content deals to attract and retain subscribers. To stay competitive and profitable, platforms have also experimented with consolidations, price increases, password sharing restrictions, and ad-supported subscription options.
Although Disney has not yet revealed the exact launch date for the new ESPN streaming service, it is expected to be announced by late summer.
