Disney is laying off 4,000 staffers across the company, as part of a cost-cutting measure aimed at achieving $5.5bn in savings. On the feature side, the majority of those laid off were mid-level and coordinator staffers. The departments affected include Searchlight, general Disney marketing, PR, distribution, legal, and the 20th and Disney story departments. Although many prolific executives were affected, it was not as severe as when Disney absorbed 20th Century Fox.
Details of the layoff
Those who were laid off were given a 60-day notice, but were expected to work during that period with a week’s severance pay. The severance pay for union employees is determined by the collective bargaining agreement and years of service. Disney is trying to give those fired as much flexibility as possible during the 60-day period so they can look for other jobs.
Impact on Searchlight
On the Searchlight side, the departments impacted were legal, production, PR and marketing. However, when Disney merged with 20th, Searchlight was largely unaffected. They swelled post-merger as former CEO Bob Chapek pivoted Disney toward streaming. However, now the 20th classic arthouse label is back at a pre-merger number of employees, that being in the 100+ staffer range.
Disney has not yet commented on the layoffs. To date, Pixar in Emeryville, CA has been untouched.
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