Disney isn’t immune to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has made the difficult decision to lay off 28,000 employees at Disney theme parks, experiences, and product segments in the United States. Of the 28,000 domestic employees that were let go 67% were part-time. The remaining cuts come at the executive, salaried, and hourly level.
Coronavirus has impacted all industries, and understandably rollercoasters aren’t the most appealing attraction at the moment when people are trying to avoid crowded spaces and maintain a social distances. Disney Parks worldwide closed in March and many have reopened at a reduced capacity. The parks typically represent a third of Disney’s revenue–mostly generated from spending at the U.S. outposts. Disney’s theme parks have reportedly lost billions of dollars.
Disney World in Orlando, FL resumed most operations in July, while Disneyland in Anaheim, CA remains closed. Disney Parks chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a public statement that the situation is “exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to open.” He said Disney had kept non-working Cast Members on furlough since April and paid for their healthcare.
Twitter users reacted to the news:
@szeer: Disney is blaming California for their layoffs????? Really???Thats outrageous! FU. We prefer not to make this pandemic worse in Ca because of an amusement park having a hissy fit.
@JimVejvoda: Disney scapegoating California for its massive layoffs is disgusting. Bob Iger’s salary alone could probably have covered the salaries of those 28K employees (who probably don’t make much to begin with).
@tiffani: Disney layoffs. 🙁 All those people’s jobs lost so this sorry president can use a virus to steal an election. If you’re still undecided at this point, wtf, why?
@TheStalwart: The Disney layoffs are a wake up call that the bridge the government built to get to the other side of COVID wasn’t long enough. More and more permanent damage being done.
@DavidMDaut: Disney announcing layoffs simultaneous with Knott’s Halloween event selling out kinda makes a lie of Disney’s insistence that these layoffs are California’s fault.