Disney increases layoffs to 32,000 as pandemic hits theme parks
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Disney has increased the number of workers it plans to lay off to roughly 32,000 as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter its theme park business.
The US media giant plans to make the job cuts — which equate to roughly 15 per cent of its total workforce — in the first half of 2021, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The layoffs, which mark an increase on the 28,000 job losses Disney announced in September, will primarily come from its theme park division.
Disney this year swung to its first loss in four decades after closures and social distancing measures sparked a sharp downturn in revenue from its parks.
In addition to the layoffs, the House of Mouse said it had roughly 37,000 employees on furlough as of 3 October as a result of the crisis. These workers are not expected to be laid off.
As of October Disney employed roughly 203,000 people, 80 per cent of whom were full-time workers and 20 per cent were part-time employees.
The bulk of these — roughly 155,000 — work in the company’s parks, experiences and products segment.
Disney’s two theme parks in California remain closed amid rising coronavirus cases in the area.
Its venues in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo have all reopened, albeit with social distancing measures in place. Disneyland Paris was last month forced to close again after France imposed a fresh lockdown to halt a second wave of infections.