Disney's Bob Iger will lay off 7,000 workers

Disney’s Bob Iger is planning to lay off 7,000 employees in a ‘significant transformation’ to cut back costs as he eliminates some of his predecessor’s efforts.

On Wednesday, Iger announced his plans to restructure the company, effectively eliminating the Disney Media and eVdEN eVe nAKliYAT Entertainment Distribution group set up under former CEO Bob Chapek.

The new structure, according to the , will have only three divisions, Disney Entertainment — which will include film and TV assets as well as Disney+; ESPN — which will include ESPN and ESPN+; and Parks, Experiences and Products — which will include theme parks and the consumer products team.

As part of that changeup, Disney will cut 7,000 jobs — representing a little over three percent of its global workforce.

The cuts are likely to predominantly affect the entertainment and ESPN divisions, despite the company beating analyst’s expectations for the fourth quarter of 2022.

The changeup comes as Gov.
Ron DeSantis  and the company faces a proxy battle with an activist investor seeking to gain a seat on the board.

In announcing the new structure Wednesday, Iger likened it to changes he made at the media giant in 2005, when he first became CEO, and in 2016, when Disney announced a shift to streaming as it bolstered its assets with the acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

‘Our new structure is aimed at returning greater authority to our creative leaders and making them accountable for how their content performs financially,’ he said on an earnings call. 

‘Our former structure severed that link and must be restored,’ he continued, noting: ‘Moving forward, our creative teams will determine what content we’re making, how it’s distributed and monetized and how it gets marketed.’

Under the plans, Alex Bergman and Dana Walden will co-chair the Disney Entertainment division, with Jimmy Pitaro continuing to lead ESPN and Josh D’Amaro continuing to lead parks and experiences.

And, in addition to the planned layoffs, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy also said the company is targeting $5.5billion in cost savings, including $3billion related to future content savings with the remaining $2.5billion coming from existing marketing, staffing and technology costs. 

But the move comes as Disney beat earnings expectations.

The company announced on Wednesday that it earned $1.28billion, or 70 cents per share, in the three months through December 31, up from a net income of $1. If you have any sort of inquiries pertaining to where and how you can make use of eVDen eVe NakliYAt, you could contact us at our own page. 1billion, or 60 cents per share a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, Disney earned 99 cents per share.

Analysts, on average, were expecting adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share, according to FactSet.

In total, revenue grew eight percent to $23.51 billion from $21.82 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting revenue of just $23.44 billion.

The company also said Disney+ ended the quarter with 161.8million subscribers, down one percent since October 1, while Hulu and ESPN+ each posted a two percent increase in paid subscribers.

Following the news, shares of Disney rose three percent in after-hours trading.

But Disney has been under fire recently by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who has claimed Iger is not fit to lead the company, citing falling revenues. 

Last week, Peltz — the founder of Trian Management — sent a letter to Disney shareholders on Thursday asking them to vote for him rather than longtime board member Michael BG Froman.

It was just the latest move Peltz made in his ongoing war with Disney, evDEN EVe NaKliyaT after previously filing paperwork with the United States Securities and <a href="https://evigetir.com/evdeneve/iletisim.

‘The Disney Board of Directors does not endorse Nelson Peltz (or his son Matthew, who is running as an alternate Mr. Peltz may swap in) as a nominee, and believes the election of either Mr. Peltz or his son would threaten the strategic management of Disney during a period of important change in the media landscape.

‘Inexplicably, Trian seeks to replace Michael Froman, a highly valued member of the Board with deep background in global trade and EVDEn EVe NAKLiYAT international business, who the Board believes is far better qualified than either Mr. Peltz or his son to help drive value for shareholders,’ the executives said in an email to DailyMail.com. 

‘Neither Mr. Peltz nor his son offer skills or experience additive to the Disney Board that replace the decades-long experience of Mr. Froman.’

The company also sent out its own letter to shareholders urging them not to vote for Peltz.

It says: ‘Your Board is committed to delivering sustainable, evDEn eVE naKLiYAT superior shareholder value. Over the last several years, we have focused on ensuring that the Board has the right combination of experience, skills and perspectives to guide Disney through a period of unprecedented change in the media business.’

The letter noted that Parker will become the chairman of the board following the 2023 shareholder meeting and says: ‘ Your Board does not endorse Mr. Peltz (or his son) as a nominee and believes that his election would threaten our efforts to manage Disney for all shareholders.

‘Over more than six months of engagement with Mr. Peltz, in both conversations and written materials, he has demonstrated that he does not understand Disney’s businesses and he lacks the perspective and experience to contribute to the objective of delivering shareholder value in a rapidly shifting media ecosystem.’

The letter concludes: ‘We look forward to providing you with more information regarding the Board and management team’s strategy to deliver shareholder value in today’s rapidly shifting media ecosystem and the reasons why the election of Mr. Peltz will not benefit that plan. 

‘In the interim, we strongly urge you to simply discard and NOT to vote using any blue proxy card sent to you by the Trian Group. Please wait to vote until you can do so on a fully informed basis.’

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has seized control of Disney’s formerly self-governing district in Florida and announced on Monday that the company must repay $700 million in debt and begin paying taxes.

The Florida governor took control of the five-member Reedy Creek Improvement District board, which oversees nearly 40 square miles of central Florida, on which the Walt Disney World Resort is built.

Considering most of the land within the special district is owned by Disney and its affiliates, the company has been given an unprecedented power since 1967 to determine how the area is run — essentially allowing the Wald Disney Co. to operate as its own form of government. 

‘Disney’s going to pay its debt,’ DeSantis assured during a press conference on Wednesday morning. 

‘What I said really for the last six, nine months is: Disney is no longer going to have self-government. They’re not going to have their own government. Disney is gonna pay their fair share of taxes and honor their debts. And that’s exactly what this proposed piece of legislation will do.’ 

He then went on to blast critics, saying: ‘A lot of folks in the media were saying that, “Oh my gosh, Disney’s actually going to pay less taxes and Floridians are going to pay more taxes.” They were saying that. And I’m like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”‘

‘Well, this puts that to bed and so those debts will be honored,’ he continued.

‘This is now obviously going to be controlled by the state of Florida. There’s a new sheriff in town.’

A new bill would give the governor full control over the district, and the ability to appoint the five-member board of supervisors that run the special district. The nominees would then need to be confirmed by Florida state senators.

The proposed legislation would prevent anyone who has ties to the theme park from serving on the new board, while keeping in place its obligation to pay almost $1billion in outstanding bonds.

It would also term-limit board members and put the governor in charge of nominating members – as well as allowing Florida to impose taxes and laws on Disney and the district its resort encompasses.

Additionally, the bill would ensure Disney is held responsible for paying more than $700 million in unsecured debts and makes sure that doesn’t fall on Florida taxpayers. 

‘These actions ensure a state-controlled district accountable to the people instead of a corporate-controlled kingdom,’ DeSantis’ deputy press secretary Jeremy Redfern told DailyMail.com

If approved, the legislation would permanently eliminate Disney’s ability to self-govern the area spanning Orange and Osceola counties in Florida.

And the Reedy Creek Improvement District will be renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.   

Walt Disney World president Jeff Vahle released a statement on the proposed legislation, saying the company is ‘monitoring the progression’ of the legislation.

‘Disney works under a number of different models and jurisdictions around the world, and regardless of the outcome, we remain committed to providing the highest quality experience for the millions of guests who visit each year.’