Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro Initiates First Major Layoffs, Targeting Up to 1,000 Employees

The Walt Disney Company is preparing to cut up to 1,000 jobs in the coming months, marking the first significant workforce reduction under the leadership of new CEO Josh D’Amaro. This move signals a strategic shift and immediate cost pressure at the world's largest entertainment conglomerate, which reported a global workforce of just over 230,000 employees at the end of its last fiscal period. The planned cuts represent a targeted but substantial initial wave of restructuring as D’Amaro begins to put his operational stamp on the company.

The layoffs, confirmed by Deadline, are set to unfold over the next several months. While the specific departments or divisions facing the deepest cuts have not been detailed, the scale indicates a broad-based efficiency drive rather than isolated trims. This action follows D’Amaro's recent ascension to the CEO role, placing him at the helm during a period of intense scrutiny over streaming profitability, theme park performance, and overall corporate spending. The decision underscores the financial and strategic recalibration underway at Disney, even as it maintains its vast creative and operational footprint.

The impending job losses will place immediate pressure on internal morale and focus attention on D’Amaro's broader management agenda. For the entertainment industry, Disney's move serves as a high-profile indicator of continued belt-tightening across major media corporations grappling with economic headwinds and the transition to direct-to-consumer models. The execution of these layoffs and any subsequent restructuring phases will be closely watched as a benchmark for corporate strategy in the post-pandemic media landscape.