Disney laying off hundreds of employees

The Walt Disney Co. is laying off hundreds of its employees, a company spokesperson told The Hill on Monday.

The spokesperson said the Disney teams affected by the Monday layoffs include film and television marketing, corporate financial operations, television publicity and casting and development, but also said there will be no cutting of teams themselves.

“As our industry transforms at a rapid pace, we continue to evaluate ways to efficiently manage our businesses while fueling the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Hill.

“As part of this ongoing work, we have identified opportunities to operate more efficiently and are eliminating a limited number of positions today,” they added.

The layoffs were first reported by Deadline. 

Earlier this year, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr unveiled on social media that he was launching an investigation into Disney over possible violations of FCC equal employment opportunity regulations via the company’s efforts that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

“For decades, Disney focused on churning out box office and programming successes. But then something changed,” Carr said in a letter for Disney, which he also posted online “Disney has now been embroiled in rounds of controversy surrounding its DEI policies.”