Disney Plans Up to 1,000 Layoffs in Marketing

The Walt Disney Company is preparing to lay off up to 1,000 employees over the next several weeks, marking the first major job cuts under new Chief Executive Josh D'Amaro. The reductions, primarily targeting the marketing division, stem from a recent consolidation of operations and broader efforts to control costs amid industry challenges.

The layoffs follow the January unification of Disney's marketing teams across its film, television, streaming, experiences, and sports segments under Chief Marketing and Brand Officer Asad Ayaz. This restructuring, part of an internal initiative code-named Project Imagine, aims to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and reduce expenses. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that plans for the cuts were already in place before D'Amaro assumed the CEO role on March 18, succeeding Bob Iger after his 52-year tenure at the company.

Disney, which employed about 231,000 people at the end of its 2025 fiscal year with annual revenue of $94.4 billion, has about 172,000 workers in the United States, mostly full-time. The planned reductions represent a small fraction of the overall workforce, concentrated in corporate and entertainment...