Disney Layoffs 2024: What to Know About the Latest TV Job Cuts
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Disney (NYSE:DIS) stock closed down just slightly today after the entertainment conglomerate announced job cuts. Specifically, the company’s Disney Entertainment Television division has confirmed that it will be laying off 140 people, which equates to roughly 2% of its staff. This includes staff from networks such as NatGeo and Freeform.
News of the Disney layoffs didn’t impact share prices all day, although shares dipped into the red by the end of trading. Let’s dive into what investors should know about this development.
Disney Layoffs: What to Know
When an industry-leading company announces job cuts, it typically doesn’t pose any long-term negative effects on share prices. As DIS stock did not react badly to news of the Disney layoffs, it seems to be a safe bet that shares won’t suffer much in the near future, if at all. Rather, today’s late-afternoon trading decline can more likely be attributed to general negative market momentum.
Disney seems to be focused on restructuring its operations after a difficult past two quarters. BNN Bloomberg provided further context on the matter:
“Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has cut billions of dollars in costs at Disney and eliminated over 8,000 positions since returning to the top job there in November 2022. The company is trying to balance the need for investments in streaming with the rapid decline of its cable networks, which still generate billions of dollars in profit.”
Even with some difficulty trading, there are reasons to be optimistic about Disney’s growth prospects moving forward. As InvestorPlace contributor Muslim Farooque notes, “Disney+ achieved profitability for the first time in [Q2], with projections pointing to full profitability by year-end.” Now, the Disney layoffs could help the company continue pivoting toward the turnaround it needs. Indeed, while these layoffs are fairly minuscule for a company as large as Disney, they may help the firm continue to better balance operations in 2025.
On the date of publication, Samuel O’Brient did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.