Prolonged closures at Disney’s California-based theme park and limited presence in its open parks have forced the company to lay off 28,000 employees in its parks, experiences and consumer products department.
In a letter sent to employees on Tuesday, Disney’s head of parks, Josh D’Amaro, described the company as taking “difficult decisions” following the coronavirus epidemic, including ending the noise of thousands of employees.
Shares of the company fell less than 2% after the closing bell on Tuesday.
About 67% of the 28,000 laid off were part-time employees, according to D’Amaro. The company refused to break through the scattering through individual park locations.
While Disney’s theme parks in Florida, Paris, Shanghai, Japan and Hong Kong have managed to reopen with limited capacity, California’s Adventure and Disneyland, California’s Anaheim have remained shuttered.
“As you can imagine, judging by this intensity is not an easy one,” D’Maro wrote in a letter obtained by CNBC. “Over the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to ensure that no one is left out of the company. We have cut costs, suspended capital projects, boosted our cast members while benefiting, and changed our operations to run effectively. Although possible, we cannot be responsibly fully staffed while operating in such a limited capacity. “
The segment of parks, experiences and consumer products is an important part of Disney’s business. Last year, કંપની 69.6 billion accounted for 37% of the company’s total revenue.
Team,
I am writing you this note today to share some of the difficult decisions about our Disney Parks, experiences and products organization.
Let me start with my belief that our business has a heart and soul and will always have people. Like all of you, I love what I do. I also prefer to be surrounded by people who think more about their roles than jobs, but as opportunities to be part of something special, something different, and really something magical.
Earlier this year, in response to the epidemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Many of us could have imagined how the epidemic would affect us – at work and in our daily lives. We initially hoped the situation would be short-lived, and we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we found out that it had not happened. And, as a result, today we are forced to reduce the size of our team during executive, salaried and hourly roles.
As you can imagine, judging by this intensity is not easy. Over the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to ensure that no one is separated from the company. We have cut costs, have suspended capital projects, boosted our cast members while benefiting and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we cannot responsibly remain fully staffed while operating in such limited capacity.
As heartbreaking as this step may have been, this is the only possible option in light of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distance requirements and constant uncertainty regarding epidemic duration. .
Thank you for your dedication, patience and understanding in these difficult times. I know these changes will be challenging. It will take time for all of us to process this information and its impact. We will ensure appointments in the next few days with our affected wage earners and non-union hourly employees. In addition, today we will begin the process of discussing the next steps with the unions. We encourage you to visit the Hub or WDI homepage for any support you need.
To those affected by this decision, I thank you for what you did for our company and our guests. While we don’t know when the epidemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and hope to return to cast members and staff whenever possible.
Most sincerely,
Josh D’Amaro
President of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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