The Walt Disney Company is cutting several hundred jobs across different parts of the company. The layoffs were announced on Tuesday. The biggest job cuts are happening at Pixar and National Geographic. These two divisions are among the most affected by the latest layoffs. Employees at Disney Entertainment Television (DET), Disney Studios and other business units have been informed about the layoffs. This was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter.
Event Context
The latest layoffs are part of Disney’s ongoing restructuring under D’Amaro. The company is reorganising its businesses under a new “One Disney” structure. This is the third round of layoffs at Disney this year. The Hollywood Reporter said the company has continued to reduce jobs as part of its restructuring plans.
In January, Disney combined all of its marketing teams under executive Asad Ayaz. That move also resulted in job cuts. In April, Disney announced another restructuring that affected around 1,000 employees. The current layoffs are smaller but show that Disney is still changing its business structure.
Disney says the restructuring is needed because the media and entertainment industry is changing quickly. The company believes it needs a more flexible and technology-driven workforce. Disney remains one of the world’s largest entertainment employers. At the end of fiscal 2025, the company had about 231,000 employees, including around 172,000 in the US and 59,000 in other countries.
Match Outlook
National Geographic had also seen major layoffs last year. Around 60 employees, or about 13% of its workforce, were laid off during the 2024 cuts. Pixar is cutting jobs across its production and operations teams. The layoffs are expected to be in the high single-digit percentage of Pixar’s 1,100 employees, which means around or fewer than 100 workers could lose their jobs.
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Nearly 100 jobs are being cut at Disney Entertainment Television. Most of the DET layoffs are at National Geographic. The cuts include employees working at the National Geographic cable channel, editorial teams and operations, according to Deadline. About 12 employees at ABC News are also losing their jobs. Some workers in other Disney Entertainment Television divisions are also affected.
There is no information yet that any top Pixar executives have been laid off. This is Pixar’s second major round of layoffs in recent years. In May 2024, Pixar cut about 175 jobs, or 14% of its workforce, after reducing its focus on making shows for streaming services. The latest layoffs come even though Pixar’s films are performing well. The studio’s movies Hoppers and Toy Story 5 have earned nearly $1.4 billion worldwide, according to Deadline.
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Disney’s sports division ESPN is also cutting jobs. The layoffs are partly linked to ESPN’s deal to acquire NFL Network assets. Most of ESPN’s layoffs are behind-the-scenes employees. These positions are connected to the NFL Network acquisition. Some well-known ESPN on-air personalities are also leaving. Longtime SportsCenter anchor Karl Ravech and NFL analyst Ryan Clark are among those affected.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the company reviewed its teams after integrating the NFL assets. He said difficult decisions had to be made to prepare the business for the future. Pitaro said most of the job cuts are linked to the NFL acquisition, but some employees in other parts of ESPN are also affected. He also said Disney will support workers during the transition, according to his memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. Employees who are losing their jobs began receiving notifications on Tuesday morning.
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro is not expected to send a new company-wide memo about these layoffs. This was reported by a source familiar with the matter. Earlier this year, D’Amaro said Disney was simplifying its operations to become faster and more efficient. He said the company wants to continue delivering creativity and innovation while building a more technology-focused workforce.
