Disney Employees

The Company employed approximately 220,000 people as of October 1, 2022, of which approximately 166,000 were employed in the U.S. and approximately 54,000 were employed internationally. Yet in Q1 2022, Disney announced a reduction in its workforce of 7,000 employees, which should bring down the employee count to 213,000 globally.

In 2023, as announced in 2022, Disney implemented several rounds of layoffs, affecting thousands of employees across various divisions.
The workforce reduction was part of a larger plan to save $5.5 billion in costs, announced by Disney’s chief executive, Bob Chapek (then replaced again by Bob Iger).
The layoffs were aimed at achieving significant cost savings, with a focus on non-content costs.
The workforce was reduced by 7,000 employees, representing about 3% of Disney’s global workforce.
The layoffs impacted divisions such as ESPN, Disney’s entertainment division, and Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.

This also resulted in a management shake-off between 2022-2023:

In November 2022, Bob Iger made a surprising return as Disney’s CEO, replacing Bob Chapek.
The Disney board concluded that Iger was uniquely positioned to lead the company through a pivotal period of industry transformation, leading to Chapek’s departure.
Chapek’s tenure as CEO was marked by criticism for various issues, including cost-cutting measures, ticket price hikes, and controversies such as Disney’s response to a Republican bill in Florida.
Chapek’s departure and Iger’s return had a significant impact on Disney’s leadership and raised questions about the company’s future direction.
The sudden CEO switch at Disney was unexpected, especially as Chapek had recently renewed his contract, with the company’s board of directors unanimously voting to extend his tenure as CEO for another three years.