Why is Disney laying off hundreds of employees? Drama explained

In 2025, hundreds of Disney employees will be laid off from various departments, including film, television, and finance. This is not the first time the company has announced a layoff. Something similar happened in 2023, when approximately 7000 employees were dismissed under Bob Iger's plan, the chief executive of the Walt Disney Company. This was done in order to save up to $5.5 billion.

Recently, the company has been facing immense pressure because viewers have been switching from cable TV subscriptions to various streaming platforms. According to a statement received by the BBC from a spokesperson, they said:

"As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fuelling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney."

Disney will lay off employees, and more details

As mentioned, the downsizing will impact different departments in the company. Workers in the film and television, casting and development, and finance departments will be affected. Although there is no risk of the company completely shutting down, the spokesperson also mentioned:

"We have been surgical in our approach to minimise the number of impacted employees."

Additionally, the American multinational mass media conglomerate owns several other companies such as Hulu, ESPN, and Marvel. In total, it has around 233,000 employees, and out of these, up to 60,000 of them are working outside of the US.

It has been reported that the media and entertainment company had a good month in May. This is because of a surge of new subscribers to their Disney+ streaming platform. According to BBC News, the numbers revealed:

"...overall revenue of $23.6bn for the first three months of the year," marking a 7% increase from last year.

List of films released and distributed by Disney in 2025

Here is a complete list of films that have been released and distributed by Disney so far in 2025.

• Captain America: Brave New World, released on February 14
• O'Dessa, released on March 20
• Snow White, released on March 21
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip, released on March 28
• The Amateur, released on April 11
• Sea Lions of the Galapagos, released on April 22
• Thunderbolts, released on May 2
• Lilo & Stitch, released on May 23

According to reports, Snow White tanked at the box office after receiving numerous negative reviews. On the other hand, Lilo & Stitch did incredibly well, even breaking box office records on Memorial Day (May 26).

For movie lovers, a few upcoming films in June and July include Predator: Killer of Killers, which will be released on June 6, 2025, Elio, releasing on June 20, 2025, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will be released on July 25, 2025. However, the company is struggling to keep all of its employees, and in the coming months, many workers may face job cuts.

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