New York (CNN) Disney CEO Bob Iger said Monday his company will begin laying off staff starting this week, the first of three rounds of expected cuts following his February announcement that the company would cut 7,000 jobs.
Disney’s global workforce cuts are part of a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations during a period of media industry turmoil.
In a memo to staff obtained by CNN, Iger said the layoffs would come in three waves. The first round begins this week and managers will soon begin notifying affected employees. A second, larger round of layoffs will take place in April, Iger said, laying off several thousand staffers. A third round of layoffs will then take place “before the start of summer” to meet the company’s planned goal of cutting 7,000 jobs.
“We don’t take lightly the difficult reality that many colleagues and friends are leaving Disney,” Iger said in the memo. “In difficult times, we must always do what is necessary to ensure that Disney can continue to provide exceptional entertainment to audiences and guests around the world – now and well into the future.”
disney (DIS) had about 220,000 employees as of October 1, of whom about 166,000 worked in the United States. A cut of 7,000 jobs represents about 3% of the global workforce.
The layoffs follow Iger’s return to Disney in November after the company’s board fired Bob Chapek as its leader.
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