Disney is slated to trim 7K jobs in an effort to cut down costs

Disney on Wednesday announced plans to eliminate some 7,000 jobs as it embarks on a broad effort to rein in expenses, making it the latest high-profile company to slash workers amid global economic uncertainty.

“While this is necessary to address the challenges we’re facing today, I do not make this decision lightly,” chief executive Bob Iger said during an earnings call, detailing a company reorganization that sought, among other things, to “return creativity to the center of the company” and make its streaming business profitable.

The layoffs are part of drive to cut $5.5 billion across the company, Iger said.

In November, Iger stunned the entertainment world when he returned to the top of Disney, replacing Bob Chapek, whose short tenure was marked by pandemic struggles and public-relations misfires. Iger’s return was seen as a move to restore the company to a golden age that Iger helped usher in, even as the company faced major obstacles including a cooling streaming market, a hobbled theatrical business and some of Disney’s biggest franchises — such as Marvel — being in flux.

Iger nonetheless promised a return to what he described as the company’s creative “heart and soul.”

On the call with investors on Wednesday, Iger cast the layoffs as a necessary part of his vision for Disney’s “transformation,” which included a broad reorganization in the company three main segments — ESPN, Disney Entertainment and its theme parks.

But more than anything, Iger emphasized streaming as instrumental to the company’s future success.

“There’s a lot to accomplish, but let me be clear — this is my number-one priority,” he said, adding that the company aims to make Disney Plus profitable by the end of 2024.

Other companies — particularly those in the tech, finance and housing sectors — have slashed jobs in recent months, sensitive to the rising cost of borrowing with higher interest rates.

Yet despite the mass layoffs at high-profile companies, the U.S. labor market remains remarkably strong as the unemployment rate hovers at record lows.