The Walt Disney Company is preparing a significant restructuring of its television operations, a move expected to lead to hundreds of layoffs and the consolidation of several divisions, according to sources familiar with the matter. The details of the plan are still being finalized by senior executives and may not be completed before the end of the year.
This restructuring is the latest in a series of organizational changes initiated since Josh D’Amaro took over as CEO in March. D’Amaro, formerly chairman of Disney’s parks division, has been focused on streamlining the company's complex and segmented structure. Earlier rounds of layoffs have already impacted various departments, including marketing, Pixar, ABC News, and ESPN.
On Tuesday, Disney announced the termination of more than 300 employees, predominantly within human resources and information technology. Additional cuts are expected within Disney’s legal and global affairs unit, which employs about 1,000 people. In a memo to staff, Horacio Gutierrez, chief legal and global affairs officer, noted that his division “will be a much smaller organization than it is today,” attributing the reduction in part to advances in automation.
Disney’s moves reflect broader industry trends, as major Hollywood studios increasingly reduce spending in response to declining streaming profits compared with previous earnings from cable television. D’Amaro has emphasized repositioning Disney as a unified digital entertainment company rather than a collection of independent brands.
In line with this strategy, D’Amaro recently promoted Adam Smith, a former YouTube executive, to chairman of streaming and appointed Silicon Valley veteran Karandeep Anand as chief technology officer, marking a new focus on technology leadership at the senior management level. Additionally, the company rolled out a voluntary early-retirement program in August, targeting executives over 50 with at least a decade of service. The results of this initiative influenced the timeline of the current television restructuring.
A key objective of the plan is to realign the television business to better serve streaming customers, moving away from the legacy brand structures rooted in linear TV models, according to a source. Disney Entertainment President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden told a Bloomberg conference that the company is centralizing its television operations to eliminate silos. She stressed the importance of regularly evaluating organizational size and structure.
The reorganization is being led by Disney Entertainment Television chairman Debra O’Connell, who oversees a diverse portfolio of production studios and networks acquired through Disney’s 2019 purchase of much of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets. These include ABC Entertainment, 20th Television, Hulu Originals, Disney Kids & Family, National Geographic Content, and Freeform. Each unit currently operates under its own leadership team, developing content for platforms such as Disney+, Hulu, and various linear channels.
The restructuring is expected to affect some executives within these units, as well as lead to further reductions at ABC News, sources familiar with that business indicated. The wave of layoffs and reorganization follows ongoing efforts to adapt the company’s television and streaming businesses to the evolving media landscape, efforts that began under D’Amaro’s predecessor, Bob Iger, during his second tenure as CEO.