Disney to lay off 7K employees to cut costs: CEO

SAN FRANCISCO: Entertainment giant Disney is laying off 7,000 employees to cut costs, its CEO Bob Iger has announced. During the company's earnings call for its December quarter, he said the move is "necessary to address the challenges we're facing today".

"I do not make this decision lightly. I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide and I am mindful of the personal impact of these changes," said Iger.

On the content side, Disney expects to deliver approximately $3 billion in savings over the next few years, excluding sports. He said that under the strategic reorganisation, there will be three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.

"This reorganisation will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to our operations and we are committed to running our businesses more efficiently, especially in a challenging economic environment. In that regard, we are targeting $5.5 billion of cost savings across the company," said the CEO.

The company's streaming business lost around $1.5 billion last quarter. Its current forecasts indicate Disney+ will hit profitability by the end of fiscal 2024.

Disney Plus added just 200,000 subscribers in the US and Canada for a total of 46.6 million, while its international offering (excluding HotStar) saw the addition of 1.2 million members.

Disney's direct-to-consumer division, which includes its streaming services, saw a 13 per cent increase in revenue to $5.3 billion, with an operating loss of nearly $1.1 billion.