Disney to lay off 4,000 more workers amid pandemic

Walt Disney Co. announces plans to lay off 4,000 more employees largely due to effects of COVID-19 pandemic

ORLANDO, Fla .– The Walt Disney Co. has announced plans to lay off an additional 4,000 employees largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company’s announcement was made in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission file earlier this week, indicating that 32,000 employees in the parks, experiences and products division will be laid off in the first half of fiscal 2021, which debuted last month.

At the end of September, the company had already announced its intention to lay off 28,000 theme park workers. The company did not say how many of the additional 4,000 employees work at theme parks in California or Florida.

In the SEC document filed the day before Thanksgiving Day, the company said it also put 37,000 unscheduled employees on leave due to the pandemic.

“Due to the current climate, including the impacts of COVID-19 and the changing environment in which we operate, the company has generated efficiencies in its staffing, including limiting hiring to roles critical sales, time off and downsizing, ”the document told me.

The company also said it could cut spending further, such as reducing investments in film and television content and additional leaves and layoffs.

In Florida, the company has limited visitation to its parks and changed protocols to allow social distancing by limiting character meetings and greetings.

Disney parks closed in March as the pandemic began to spread in the United States. Florida Parks reopened this summer, but California Parks have yet to reopen pending state and local government approvals.

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A previous version of this report indicated that the 4,000 workers worked in the theme park division. But the figure includes park employees, experiences and products.