Layoffs of thousands of Disney employees will take place in several waves, and the biggest wave of cuts has been forecast as “a bloodbath.”
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News of Disney’s decision to lay off more than 7,000 Cast Members around the globe continues to take on a new tone with each passing day, and that tone has yet to be positive or encouraging. Late last week, managers across The Walt Disney Company were charged with what seems a difficult, if not impossible, task for some: make a list of your most disposable, redundant employees so they can be among those considered for termination as part of Disney’s planned layoffs. Though managers were given a deadline for submission in two weeks, the majority of managers have already submitted their respective lists.
Since Disney CEO Bob Iger first announced plans for a major restructuring of the company and massive layoffs in early February, details about the cuts have been scarce. But on Tuesday, an exclusive report gave more information about how Disney plans to execute the removal of “useless” Cast Members across the company.
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It was revealed that the cuts will likely take place in several waves–possibly in three separate waves to be carried out in late March, then possibly again in mid-April and once more in late April. The entire scenario is one rife with stress and angst for Cast Members who have no idea whether they’ll be among the thousands who are soon to be unemployed.
But perhaps the most stressful and unsettling piece of the Disney layoff puzzle thus far is the way in which insiders are describing one of the waves of layoffs. The supposed second wave of cuts could be Disney’s most far-reaching and devastating, as those with inside information are referring to the second round of layoffs as “the big one,” saying it will be “a bloodbath.” This round of cuts will reportedly result in the most layoffs of any of the waves.
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Disney has confirmed that cuts will affect all three divisions at The Walt Disney Company: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Parks, Experiences, and Products. At this time, however, it’s unclear whether the divisions will see an equal percentage of cuts or if one division will lose more employees than the others.