The long-anticipated layoffs at Disney are set to begin this week, causing high anxiety throughout The House of Mouse. Insiders have referred to the upcoming staff reductions as a “bloodbath” and “the big one.” Every division is expected to be visited, with the largest number of layoffs coming out of Hulu and ESPN. Hulu’s domestic-only streaming service appears to be a prime candidate to be sold, whereas ESPN continues its long-term, slow decline in viewers.
CEO Bob Iger has taken on a prime directive to increase profits at the company, and the fastest way to accomplish this is by reducing the workforce through staff redundancies and division sell-offs. 7,000 layoffs are expected over the next few months, with one longtime film exec saying, “Truth is, if you’re not operating a ride at the parks, you could be on the chopping block. Maybe the worst part is still not knowing who is being let go, no matter how much time you put in.”