Disney is preparing to eliminate several thousand jobs, and some of its managers have been told to shrink their costs by as much as 20%, according to people familiar with the plans who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The reductions would be the latest wave of layoffs at the entertainment company since Josh D'Amaro became chief executive earlier this year.
Disney had already laid out two smaller rounds. In April, it planned to cut up to 1,000 workers, mostly in marketing. In September, it targeted roughly 300 more, many of them in human resources and technology.
Warnings since the summer
Executives signaled in the company's August earnings report that further cuts could come. In an Aug. 5 shareholder letter, D'Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said Disney was weighing a range of options to lower expenses companywide and free up money to invest in growth, adding that the effort was only partly done.
We remain highly focused on reducing costs across the enterprise to create incremental capacity to invest for growth and are evaluating a variety of levers
Josh D'Amaro, Disney CEO, and Hugh Johnston, CFO
That same month, Disney rolled out an early retirement program for some employees.
Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman told staff in an Aug. 24 letter that the retirement offer was one of several moves to restructure the company, and that involuntary layoffs had started in some areas and would carry into next year.
This is one of several actions we're taking to reshape our organization, including involuntary staff reductions that have already begun in some areas and will continue into next year
Sonia Coleman, Disney chief people officer
Disney employed about 231,000 people at the end of its 2025 fiscal year, which closed in September 2025, according to its annual financial report.
Cuts across the entertainment industry
Disney is one of several media companies shrinking payrolls. Netflix told employees in an internal memo last month that it planned to eliminate roughly 6% of its staff.
Skydance, which now combines Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, is also expected to reduce headcount as it pursues $6 billion in synergies over three years.
Disney is scheduled to release fiscal fourth-quarter results on Nov. 17.
