The Walt Disney Co. is feeling the consequences of going “woke” and employees are bracing for major cost cuts, including potential thousands of layoffs.
The announcement is expected to be made by CEO Bob Iger when the company reports its quarterly earnings on Wednesday.
Disney’s profits took a major hit in 2022, causing the company’s stock to drop 44% and leading to ongoing corporate restructuring efforts.
The company is also facing a heated proxy fight from pro-Trump billionaire Nelson Peltz, who is dissatisfied with Disney’s current leadership and decision-making.
Disney ( $DIS ) will report its Q4 earnings after-hours today.
Over the last few months, we've seen a significant amount of selling of Disney stock among lawmakers, corporate insiders, and institutions.
Here are a few things worth noting before the call:
— Quiver Quantitative (@QuiverQuant) February 8, 2023
“Disney is under pressure to improve its financial performance and change its streaming strategy. Last year, the company turned in its worst stock market results in decades. After Disney reported a $1.5B loss for its online video business in the third qtr” https://t.co/Qwd1vAymGl
— ST (@challengerST) February 3, 2023
Hope and pray #Disney stock & company bankrupts. $DIS has fully turned into an Anti-American Company. Thankful I don't allow my children to watch their Woke BS. #Reparations is Comical and flat out embarrassing.
Walt Disney is rolling in his grave.https://t.co/xs26xxEkZt
— Kobeissi™ (@Gopic) February 8, 2023
In addition to this, Disney’s public fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state’s anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law has resulted in the loss of its self-governing status in the Orlando area, a privilege it had held for 50 years.
The consequences of “going woke” are becoming increasingly clear, with Disney being just the latest example of “go woke, go broke.”
Breitbart has more details:
The Walt Disney Co. went woke and now it is paying the consequences, with employees bracing for a bloodbath.
Executives are expecting CEO Bob Iger to announce drastic cost cuts — including layoffs that could number in the thousands — when the company reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, according to a Business Insider report. The cuts come amid Iger’s ongoing corporate restructuring following a disastrous 2022 that saw company profits tank and its stock plummet 44 percent.
Disney is also facing a nasty proxy fight from pro-Trump billionaire Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Fund Management owns more than 9 million shares of the company. Peltz is angling for a seat on the Disney board, looking to replace Michael Froman, a veteran of the Clinton and Obama administrations.
Peltz is unhappy with the way the company is currently being run, including the decision to pick a fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over the state’s anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, according to a Variety report.
As a result of the fight, Walt Disney World has lost its self-governing status in the Orlando area, a privilege it has held for five decades.
But that’s not all.
Layoffs loom around the corner.
Big Tech has already laid off hundreds of thousands of employees.
Will Disney be next?
ICYMI: Disney CEO Bob Iger has 'very little room for maneuver' as he tackles layoffs, budget cuts, a company reorg, and questions over the future of Hulu and ESPN $DIS https://t.co/A0t9RGf7ed via @businessinsider
— Claire Atkinson – Subscribe to The Media Mix (@claireatki) February 8, 2023
Disney is bracing for big layoffs – here's what insiders say to expect. with @claireatki : https://t.co/JMVFZh9XTK
— Lucia Moses (@lmoses) February 7, 2023
Current List of Mass Layoffs:
1. Amazon: Laying of 10,000+ this week
2. Twitter: 50% of workforce
3. Snapchat: 20% of workforce
4. Meta: 13% of workforce
5. Credit Suisse: 5% of workforce
6. Apple: Hiring freeze
7. Disney: Hiring freeze
Unemployment is set to skyrocket.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) November 14, 2022
With all these layoffs, it’s clear that Biden’s economy is in terrible shape.
Yet Democrats keep wanting to fight a culture war.
‘Go Woke, Go Broke’ isn’t just a catchy slogan.
It appears to be 100% true.
The Verge has more details on the upcoming layoffs:
Less than a day into his second run as Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger told employees last November that he was planning to restructure key parts of the company in order to walk back some of the changes implemented by his predecessor, Bob Chapek. Now, the shape of that restructuring is beginning to become more clear ahead of the company’s next earnings report, and it sounds like a round of layoffs is on the way.
Deadline reports that Disney is contemplating how it might consolidate a number of its different TV production arms, as well as merge its marketing departments as part of a larger initiative to get on top of the company’s accounting concerns. Disney’s also reportedly moving forward with its plan to dissolve its Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division (DMED) — which oversees Disney’s ad tech, content operations / platforms, and other core parts of its streaming business — following Iger’s move to fire its former chief exec Kareem Daniel last fall.
So what do you think?
Is the timing of this coincidence?
Or is Disney facing the consequences of its actions?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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