Walt Disney is cutting several hundred jobs, primarily in human resources and technology, according to independent reports published September 29 by Reuters and Business Insider. Both cited people familiar with the reductions. The latest cuts extend a year of workforce changes at the entertainment company while management pursues closer coordination across its businesses and continued investment in digital products.
Business Insider described this as the third round of layoffs since Josh D’Amaro became chief executive in March, following reductions in April and July. Its reporting said the latest round affects fewer workers than the earlier reductions. The reports establish the broad functions affected, but do not provide a complete public accounting of individual teams, locations or final job totals.
Another Round After Earlier Reductions
The April round was expected to eliminate about 1,000 positions, according to the Associated Press. It followed a consolidation of Disney’s marketing organization and extended into television, the movie studio, product and technology, and corporate functions. In an employee memo obtained by AP, D’Amaro presented that restructuring as an effort to simplify operations and prepare the workforce for changing business needs. Those earlier cuts provide context for Tuesday’s development, though they were a separate action.
Disney employed approximately 231,000 people worldwide at the end of fiscal 2025, including about 172,000 in the United States, Reuters reported. That company-wide workforce figure is a historical baseline, rather than a current count following this year’s reductions. It also does not identify how many employees work in the particular functions affected this week.
Cost Review Alongside Stronger Results
Disney had already disclosed that labor costs were under review. In their August 5 shareholder letter, D’Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said the company was examining reductions in labor and selling, general and administrative expenses to make room for investment. They described the work as ongoing and promised further updates. That filing documents management’s broader objective; it does not specify the savings attributable to Tuesday’s reported layoffs.
The same company release reported quarterly revenue of about $25.2 billion, up 7%, and income before taxes of about $3.6 billion, up 14%. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $2.06 from $1.61, while reported diluted earnings per share declined to $1.51 from $2.92. Disney labels the adjusted figure a non-GAAP measure, so the two earnings measures should not be treated as interchangeable. Management also raised its fiscal-year share-repurchase target to at least $9 billion. Entertainment operating income rose 64% to about $1.7 billion, according to the release. The segment’s improvement is additional context for evaluating the cuts alongside the performance of Disney’s creative businesses. These figures show that the cost review accompanies revenue growth, rather than establishing that falling company-wide sales prompted the cuts.
A New Company-Wide Technology Role
The technology reductions arrive shortly before a significant leadership appointment takes effect. Disney’s September 18 announcement named Karandeep Anand to the newly created position of senior executive vice president and chief technology officer, starting October 2. The company said he would report directly to D’Amaro. Anand most recently led Character.AI and previously held leadership roles at Meta, Brex and Microsoft.
According to Disney, his responsibilities will encompass enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and artificial-intelligence platforms, product and engineering. He will work across the segment technology teams, and some Character.AI technical employees are expected to join Disney. Those are the company’s stated plans, not a published explanation of which existing positions are being eliminated. The appointment and the layoffs together show why a reduction in technology headcount cannot automatically be read as a retreat from technology investment. Disney is adding a senior coordinating role even as it reduces other positions.
What the Changes Mean for Disney’s Strategy
In his August 5 earnings commentary, D’Amaro described a strategy built around creative properties, technology and closer relationships with fans. He placed Disney+ at the center of a more connected digital offering, with plans to bring together entertainment, games, merchandise and additional subscriber benefits. Disney said elements of that expanded offering were expected beginning in spring 2027. That timing remains a company expectation, rather than a completed rollout. Management said the planned changes were intended to deepen engagement, increase personalization and reduce subscriber cancellations. Those goals help explain why the company continues to emphasize digital capabilities during its expense review.
D’Amaro also said Disney was using AI to support creative work, including parts of production and post-production, while maintaining human creative leadership. Those statements explain management’s intended use of the technology; they do not establish that AI caused this week’s layoffs or identify particular jobs replaced by automation. For employees and audiences assessing the restructuring, that distinction matters. Disney has publicly described both an ongoing expense review and an investment agenda. The available reporting identifies another workforce reduction within that transition, but leaves the detailed connection between individual job losses and future products unresolved.
