New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro’s Passion Project Costs 1,000 Jobs
Epic Games announced 1,000 layoffs on March 24, days after Josh D’Amaro—who championed Disney’s $1.5 billion investment in the gaming studio—took over as Disney CEO.
The cuts undermine D’Amaro’s promotion of the partnership as a transformative achievement that would “redefine how fans play, create, and connect with Disney stories.”
Financial Crisis at Disney’s Partner
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney sent a memo to employees confirming the job eliminations and blaming the collapse in Fortnite engagement in 2025, which left the company “spending significantly more than we’re making.”
EPIC GAMES LAYS OFF OVER 1,000 EMPLOYEES
“Today we’re laying off over 1000 Epic employees. I’m sorry we’re here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded. This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing some open roles puts us in a more stable place.”
EPIC GAMES LAYS OFF OVER 1,000 EMPLOYEES
"Today we’re laying off over 1000 Epic employees. I'm sorry we're here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we're spending significantly more than we're making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the… pic.twitter.com/Ibrsl1IFn3
— HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 24, 2026
Laid-off workers will receive:
- Four+ months base pay (tenure-based)
- Six months of Epic-paid U.S. healthcare
- Accelerated stock vesting through January 2027
- Equity exercise window extended up to two years
Epic eliminated open positions, cut contractors, and slashed marketing budgets. Sweeney claims these actions have made the studio “a more stable place.”
Epic Doesn’t Blame AI
Sweeney clarified that the layoffs don’t relate to AI automation:
“I should note that the layoffs aren’t related to AI. To the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can.”
Epic will accelerate Fortnite seasonal content to boost consumer spending as it transitions from Unreal Engine 5 to Unreal Engine 6. Sweeney also mentioned “huge launch plans towards the end of the year.”
D’Amaro’s Signature Investment
Disney invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games in February 2024, acquiring minority ownership to integrate Disney properties into Fortnite. D’Amaro, who became CEO last week after replacing Bob Iger, previously identified the partnership as one of his most significant accomplishments in his prior Disney Experiences role.
He promised that the Epic collaboration “will redefine how fans play, create, and connect with Disney stories.”
Disney and D’Amaro haven’t addressed the job cuts at Epic Games.
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