Disney plans to cut costs and staff

Disney CEO Bob Chapek sent a letter to the top managers of the company, in which he spoke about the need to cut costs, temporarily stop hiring new employees and reduce staff.

In his letter, which was published by the TV channel CNBC, Mr. Capek announced the creation of a special commission that will take key decisions in the framework of cost reduction. It will include Mr. Chapek himself, as well as the company’s financial director Christine McCarthy and chief legal adviser Horacio Gutierrez.

“We will examine every line of business and position for opportunities to cut costs, and we expect to lay off some employees as part of a review of the strategy,” wrote the head of the company. In addition, he instructed top managers to refrain from business trips as much as possible, and to hold business meetings, if possible, in an online format.

The decision to cut costs and personnel was made by Disney management after unsuccessful financial reporting for the third quarter. Despite the increase in the number of subscribers to the Disney+ streaming service by 12 million people, the company’s revenue and net income were significantly worse than analysts’ forecasts. In addition, Disney+ itself ended the quarter with a loss of nearly $1.5 billion, more than double the loss a year earlier.

Kirill Sarkhanyants