Walt Disney Co has begun second wave of layoffs as part of an earlier announced reconstructing expected to result in 7,000 job losses. The company is set to cut ‘several thousand’ jobs through Thursday, with the latest round reductions bringing the total number of jobs culled to 4,000, as per Reuters report.
The cuts will occur across the company’s business segments, including Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experience and Products, but are not expected to affect hourly frontline workers employed at the park and resorts.
If reports are to be believed the media giant has been under pressure as its traditional television and film business shrinks, while its streaming unit continues to post big losses.
Chief executive Bob Iger announced the $5.5 billion cost-cutting drive back in February of this year.
"The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly," Disney officials said.
The redundancies are indicative of a larger retrenching across the entertainment industry, as executives refocus on profits, after years in which many traditional media firms spent heavily to launch streaming platforms and win subscribers.
Bob Iger, who joined the company last November after ousting of Bob Chapek, believes that the firm needs to be streamlining its business. Among other measures, the firm is planning to spend $3 billion less on content.
The firm commenced its job cuts with a first round of notifications to staff at the end of last month.
Disney, which employs more than 50,000 people outside of US, has not giving any confirmation on how many job cuts will involve international staff.
