Disney announced today, Tuesday, September 29, 2020, it will be laying off 28,000 employees at both its Disneyland and Walter Disney World parks in the United States. This information was disseminated to employees via a letter from Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro.
The layoffs will occur at Disney’s theme parks, cruise lines, and travel planning and consumer products division.
“In light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic — exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen — we have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels, having kept non-working Cast Members on furlough since April, while paying healthcare benefits,” D’Amaro said in a statement.
Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney California Adventure has been closed for 6 months now since mid-March. Disney theme parks in China, France, Japan and Florida have reopened with attendance capacity limits following extended coronavirus closures.
“We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal,” D’Amaro said in a letter to employees. “Seven months later, we find that has not been the case. And, as a result, today we are now forced to reduce the size of our team across executive, salaried and hourly roles.”
According to D’Amaro, Disney theme parks have cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed employees with benefits and modified operations in an effort to avoid layoffs.
“As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy,” D’Amaro said in a letter to employees. “However, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.”
About two-thirds of the 28,000 laid off employees are part-time workers. D’Amaro said Disney will look for opportunities to bring back the laid off employees at a later date.
“As difficult as this decision is today, we believe that the steps we are taking will enable us to emerge a more effective and efficient operation when we return to normal,” said D’Amaro, chairman of Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division. “As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business.”
