Disney Cuts Hundreds of Jobs in Third Round Under New CEO

Walt Disney Co. laid off hundreds of employees on Tuesday, September 29, at its Burbank, California operations — the third round of job cuts since Josh D'Amaro took over as CEO in March.

The reductions hit the human resources and technology departments hardest, concentrated in the film and television division. The cuts follow a pattern set in D'Amaro's first months at the helm: in a recent letter to shareholders, he emphasized cost reduction as a company priority, and the company has offered early-retirement packages to long-tenured executives as part of the same effort.

What the cuts signal at the sector level

For media and entertainment workers, the Disney reductions are not an isolated event. The company attributes the layoffs to financial pressures, changing consumer demands, and technological shifts, and it is streamlining operations to improve efficiency — the same language now common across corporate earnings calls in a range of industries. When a company of Disney's scale trims HR and tech staff inside its content operations, it signals that even functions once considered stable overhead are now being reassessed for cost.

For individual workers, the practical takeaway is narrower and more concrete. If you hold an HR or technology role within a film or television business, your position sits in the segment Disney has now cut three times in roughly half a year under its new leadership. The parallel offer of early-retirement packages to long-serving executives indicates the company is also targeting seniority-heavy compensation at the top rather than limiting reductions to junior staff — relevant both to executives weighing a package and to mid-level employees assessing whether a fourth round could follow.

The CEO's stated rationale

D'Amaro has framed the cuts as deliberate and ongoing rather than a one-time correction. His shareholder letter tied the layoffs to a broader cost-reduction agenda, and the company says it is adapting operations to evolving consumer behavior and technological advancement. Employees and job seekers reading that language should note what it implies: efficiency-driven restructuring at Disney is a stated strategy, not a reaction to a single quarter.

What to watch

Three rounds of layoffs in six months, concentrated in specific functions, establish a clear trajectory. Whether Disney extends the cuts beyond HR and tech into creative or operational roles — and whether the early-retirement packages draw enough takers to soften a fourth round — will shape the near-term hiring picture for one of the largest employers in American media.