Disney’s black crisis: after the staff cuts it’s up to the schedule
Disney pay TV loses 12 films from its catalog: the cuts on streaming should allow the entertainment giant to save between one and a half billion and eight billion. But the situation remains grim
The thunderstorm clouds that make the sky above the fairy-tale castle, the emblem of Disney, leaden. At the end of March, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced what everyone expected, namely that the Group would soon begin the first of three rounds of layoffs that will affect a total of 7,000 employees over the course of the year. entertainment giant. Before the summer, according to rumors reported by Variety , Disney will begin another round of layoffs, bigger than the previous one. Approximately 4,000 employees will remain outside the doors of the fairy-tale castle this week. The cuts are planned for the Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products divisions.
DISNEY LAYOUT SEASON
Worldwide, according to data taken from CNN , Disney employs 220 thousand people (the figure is from October 2022). This layoff plan will therefore hit 3% and will concern various sectors of Big Tech: Disney distribution, amusement parks and even ESPN. The cuts will also have an impact on the production of original content: the company has announced its intention to cut over $5 billion in costs, which includes $3 billion for the creative part.
The news is not surprising and not only because Big Tech has been implementing massive restructuring plans to reduce costs for months, but also because Disney had been forced to proceed with layoffs already in the difficult season of the lockdowns that had stopped its amusement parks. entertainment.
THE CUT OF THE DISNEY SCHEDULES
But the cuts weren't limited to personnel. Disney + has in fact just removed another twelve films from its catalog, including a very recent one, dating back to 2022 and, above all, original: Cheaper by the Dozen . If you're a subscriber, you know this isn't the first content pack to be cut.
- Artemis Fowl
- Better Nate Than Never
- Black Beauty
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Darby and the Dead
- Flora & Ulysses
- Hollywood Stargirl
- Magic Camp
- The One and Only Ivan
- Stargirl
- Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
- Wolfgang
Given the headlines, no one will really miss them, but by cutting back Disney is unlikely to recover from the hemorrhage of subscribers that led it to lose 4 million users globally, even though the losses for the streaming division have stopped growing at the pace of the recent period, shrinking about 26% to $200 million, with overall revenues growing 13% to $21.8 billion, above analyst forecasts.
With this maneuver on the schedules, Disney aims to save between one and a half billion and one billion eight hundred thousand dollars already in the new quarter, therefore a rather sharp cut in streaming content is expected. “We are going through a process of reviewing the content on our digital services, in order to align with the strategic changes decided in our new approach to production”, reported the CFO, Christine McCarthy, during the last conference dedicated to shareholders, now a month ago.
THE RETURN OF BOB IGER, MR SPENDING REVIEW
After all, the return to the top of the 71-year-old Bob Iger in the middle of the autumn following the resignation of Bob Chapek had been determined by an attempt to revive the fortunes of the US multinational . "The board of directors – the words expressed at the appointment of Iger – has decided that, facing an increasingly complex period of transformation of the industry, Bob Iger is uniquely suited to lead the company during this delicate moment".
“This reorganization will lead to a more cost-effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to our operations,” Iger explained during a finance meeting in February. “We are committed to running our businesses more efficiently, especially in a challenging economic environment. In that regard, we're targeting $5.5 billion in cost savings across the enterprise. First, non-content cost reductions totaling approximately $2.5 billion adjusted for inflation. To achieve this goal, we will reduce our workforce by approximately 7,000. This is necessary to meet the challenges we are facing today. I don't take this decision lightly. I have tremendous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees around the world. I am aware of the personal impact of these changes”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia-on-demand/la-crisi-nera-di-disney-dopo-i-tagli-al-personale-tocca-al-palinsesto/ on Sun, 04 Jun 2023 15:29:33 +0000.