Disney has cut between 100 and 200 jobs in its Experiences division, with most of the reductions landing at Walt Disney Imagineering’s campus in Glendale, California, Deadline reported after the Los Angeles Times first broke the news. The division runs Disney’s theme parks, resorts and cruise line, and it’s now the fourth round of layoffs since Josh D’Amaro took over as CEO in March.
The cuts come even though Experiences posted record results in Disney’s most recent earnings report, for the fiscal third quarter. Segment operating income jumped 20% to $3.02 billion as revenue climbed 10% to $9.97 billion. Global guests, a measure that combines park attendance and cruise passenger days, grew 4%, domestic park attendance rose 3% and per capita guest spending at the domestic parks increased 4%.
What’s Confirmed About The Disney Layoffs
A California WARN notice lists 159 permanent layoffs at Disney‘s Glendale campus, effective Dec. 29. Disney hasn’t publicly broken down which teams were affected, though a source familiar with the decision tied the cuts to regular reviews of project priorities and timelines.
The layoffs follow a voluntary early retirement offer Disney announced in August. That offer went to U.S.-based employees from the director level through executive vice president in Disney Entertainment, ESPN and corporate functions who are at least 50, have worked for the company at least 10 years and reach 65 points when age and years of service are combined. Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman told eligible leaders the offer was one of several steps Disney was taking, including involuntary staff reductions.
Disney reported about 231,000 total employees as of the end of fiscal 2025, with 172,000 based in the United States and 59,000 abroad. Part-time workers make up 16% of that workforce and seasonal employees account for another 8%, a reflection of the staffing needs tied to the theme parks and resorts business.
D’Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger as CEO in March, has presided over several rounds of layoffs since taking the job. The first came in April and eliminated about 1,000 positions, many in the company’s newly consolidated marketing group. A second round in July cut several hundred more jobs, hitting Pixar and National Geographic hardest, with ESPN also affected. A third round in late September cut a few hundred employees, mostly in technology and human resources.
What It Means For Fans And Park Visitors
These layoffs came despite strong park performance, not because of weak results. Disney said in August that forward bookings at Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line remained healthy, and it flagged continued but moderating headwinds from international visitors at its domestic parks. Disneyland Paris, meanwhile, saw strong attendance growth after World of Frozen opened.
Disney also projected another quarter of global guest growth in its fiscal fourth quarter, excluding the extra 53rd week in this fiscal year, despite consumer softness at Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland. For park-goers, that suggests no immediate pullback in park operations or attractions tied to the cuts. Still, the reductions hit Imagineering, the team responsible for designing future rides, lands and resorts, so it’s worth watching whether any announced projects shift.
Context For The Broader Cost-Cutting Push
The Experiences layoffs aren’t isolated. Deadline reported that Disney Entertainment Television is expected to undergo major restructuring under chairman Debra O’Connell, who took the newly created role in March, and that Disney’s motion picture studio faces similar changes. The Wall Street Journal reported the TV overhaul could eliminate hundreds of jobs, though Disney hasn’t disclosed exact figures for either unit.
Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer Horacio Gutierrez offered a preview of the broader push in a Sept. 18 memo to the roughly 1,000 employees in his division. He warned of “hard choices” about “staffing investments” and said legal and global affairs would become “a much smaller organization,” according to Deadline. Gutierrez described what he called a “transformation process” that includes “automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies.”
Those comments point to cost-cutting that extends beyond any single division, though Disney hasn’t announced a companywide savings target or said which other units could see cuts beyond Experiences, legal and global affairs, Entertainment Television and the film studio.
What’s Next
Disney hasn’t detailed a timeline for the restructuring at Disney Entertainment Television or the motion picture studio. The company reports fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results Nov. 17, which should offer more clarity on how the cost-cutting is affecting its divisions as fiscal 2027 gets underway.
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