While exhibitors were celebrating the renaissance of moviegoing, the mood was much gloomier in other corners of the media landscape, where Disney’s mass layoffs were the top story. This cost reduction lived up to its billing as a “bloodbath”, with cuts coming from almost every division at Disney.
The impact on Disney’s streaming division was particularly strong, where three leading executives were let go in the wake of gigantic losses, including a $1.47 billion deficit in Q3 2022. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw offered the fascinating observation that only one of the first seven Disney execs to speak on stage during the Disney+ investor event in December 2020 is still employed at the company.
Elsewhere, Amazon also announced that it was laying off 100 workers from its film and studio division. While Amazon has been trimming staff throughout the company over the past year, the film and studio division had been spared up to this point, as the company continued its focus on building up its entertainment business. However, after its $8.45 billion MGM acquisition and with a potential writers’ strike around the corner, Amazon Studios will now trim back on approximately 7.5% of its staff.
See also: Amazon Studios and Prime Video layoffs have begun, with about 100 staffers cut as CEO Andy Jassy looks for cost savings across the board (Business Insider)