Walt Disney is preparing to cut up to 1,000 positions in the coming weeks, with the majority of the job losses expected to hit the company’s marketing department. According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, the restructuring plans were already underway before Josh D’Amaro took over as CEO in March.
The layoffs would represent less than 1% of Disney’s global workforce, which numbered approximately 231,000 employees at the end of fiscal year 2025. The cuts are part of a broader cost-reduction initiative led by newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer Asad Ayaz, who has launched a company-wide marketing consolidation effort dubbed “Project Imagine.”
Ayaz, who assumed oversight of a newly formed unified marketing organization in January, aims to streamline operations and reduce expenses across Disney’s various business units. The restructuring is seen as a move to increase efficiency and align marketing strategies under a single leadership structure.
While the exact timeline and departments affected remain unclear, the planned job reductions signal a continued push by Disney to optimize its operations amid shifting market dynamics and evolving consumer habits. The company has faced pressure to balance content investment with cost discipline as it navigates a competitive streaming landscape and broader economic uncertainty.
Disney has not yet commented publicly on the scale or scope of the cuts, but the move underscores the entertainment giant’s ongoing efforts to adapt its business model in a rapidly changing media environment.
