Disney is laying off 159 workers at its California creative offices
Disney is cutting 159 jobs at its creative design offices in Glendale.
The short version
- The permanent layoffs hit theme park engineers and designers by February.
- Workers received notices through state filings this week.
Why it matters to you. For families planning a park trip, the changes happen behind the scenes as Imagineers build future attractions.
Check your schedule if you work in theme park design. Walt Disney Co., the entertainment giant which owns ABC and ESPN, is cutting 159 jobs at its creative design offices in Glendale, California, according to the Orange County Register. The permanent layoffs hit landscape architects, project engineers, and ride development specialists by the end of February.
Jim Bowden, the head of employee relations at Disney, wrote in a state filing that the affected employees take direction from the Glendale campus. The cuts touch the Experiences segment, which runs theme parks, the cruise line fleet, and the Aulani resort in Hawaii.
This follows a wider wave of cost-cutting that included 1,000 roles eliminated in April and hundreds more in July. Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston warned investors in August that more job cuts could follow. Even Mickey Mouse has to watch the overhead.
