Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, has sent a letter to Cast Members and a tweet explaining that Disney will be doing a round of layoffs to help the company through this difficult time.
What’s Happening:
- After 7 months of working to avoid such an outcome, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products will be making a round of layoffs.
- The news comes from a letter Josh D’Amaro shared with Cast Members explaining the difficulty of the decision and that they have no other choice at this point.
- According to the letter, the decision will affect executive, salaried, and hourly roles.
- Around 28,000 people are expected to lose their jobs across Parks, Experiences, and Consumer Products, with 67% of them being part time.
- The letter addresses some of the steps Disney has taken to try and avoid this, including suspending projects, modifying operations, and keeping some Cast Members on furlough while still providing benefits.
- Disneyland Resort remains closed while the parks at Walt Disney World are running at reduced capacity.
- Universal Studios, SeaWorld, and LEGOLAND all had rounds of layoffs earlier this year while Disney avoided them until now.
Josh D’Amaro’s Full Letter
Team,
I write this note to you today to share some difficult decisions that we have had to make regarding our Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products organization.
Let me start with my belief that the heart and soul of our business is and always will be people. Just like all of you, I love what I do. I also love being surrounded by people who think about their roles as more than jobs, but as opportunities to be a part of something special, something different, and something truly magical.
Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Few of us could have imagined how significantly the pandemic would impact us — both at work and in our daily lives. We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we find that has not been the case. And, as a result, today we are now forced to reduce the size of our team across executive, salaried, and hourly roles.
As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy. For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.
As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic.
Thank you for your dedication, patience and understanding during these difficult times. I know that these changes will be challenging. It will take time for all of us to process this information and its impact. We will be scheduling appointments with our affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. Additionally, today we will begin the process of discussing next steps with unions. We encourage you to visit The Hub or the WDI Homepage for any support you may need.
For those who will be affected by this decision, I want to thank you for all that you have done for our company and our guests. While we don’t know when the pandemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and hope to welcome back Cast Members and employees when we can.
Most sincerely,
Josh D’Amaro
Chairman
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
