Disney Parks laying off 28,000 cast members

[CAQDaddy]

Just a reminder to steer clear of politics.

How is your post #48 not political? Did you read the statement in the tweet?
The last paragraph? Not trying to be a jerk, I'm genuinely curious.

 

[hertamaniac]

I'm not happy about this announcement at all. Businesses don't take these decisions lightly and it takes a relationship between State, county and business to make things work.

Blaming Disney exclusively is irrational.

That's right. Carnival cruise lines was recently reported to shed ~7,000 employees (out of ~32,000) for about a 20% reduction in workforce. They waited and waited to see if cruising/sailings would resume, but to no avail. They didn't want to layoff a single employee, but the external conditions/environment outside of their control forced them to.

 

[rteetz]

How is your post #48 not political? Did you read the statement in the tweet?
The last paragraph? Not trying to be a jerk, I'm genuinely curious.

Just sharing a link. Disney is in Orange County and this will impact people that live there. Discussing the call for politicians to work on some sort of relief would be against our rules but sharing the statement is not necessarily. It certainly is a fine line.

 

[CastAStone]

It’s sad, but on the plus side, if there were no plans to bring the part timers back for the foreseeable future, at least now they know for sure and can look for other employment. It had to be hard to find a fill in job when you could be called back any time. Being in limbo is tough. I do hope DL is able to open soon.

1000% this. While paying their health insurance was a wonderful thing to do, keeping them in limbo forever isn’t really fair.

I feel awful for those furloughed. It didn’t have to be like this, but it’s not really Disney’s fault.

 

[jerry557]

Yep. This isn't unexpected. Not even Disney is immune to economic forces. It's not just the revenue lost during the shutdowns, but it's compounded over time due to the loss of attendance. This is likely only the beginning of layoffs and restructuring that will be ongoing for months. Projects that were still in the design and imagineering phases will now likely be shelved or scaled way back. Entertainment spending will be scaled back. Labor will be reconfigured to be more efficient.

Even when this COVID stuff is over, it will take perhaps years for attendance to fully return. And even then Disney will be paying back loans it took out to keep afloat now. The impact of this will be felt LONG into the future. It's likely going to permanently change the company......and probably the entire industry.

Also what may play a factor in the long-term planning is that Florida is considering a ballot amendment to jump the minimum wage. I don't know how many employees Disney has in Florida that make less than $15 an hour (maybe someone more in the know can chime in on that), but if that amendment passes, I am sure Disney will have to take that into consideration in their long term planning. Another reason the workforce may have to be reconfigured.

 

[New Mouse]

That's right. Carnival cruise lines was recently reported to shed ~7,000 employees (out of ~32,000) for about a 20% reduction in workforce. They waited and waited to see if cruising/sailings would resume, but to no avail. They didn't want to layoff a single employee, but the external conditions/environment outside of their control forced them to.

Carnival has not been anywhere near as profitable as Disney over the years. Carnival would literally go bankrupt if they didnt do this.

 

[BK2014]

Also what may play a factor in the long-term planning is that Florida is considering a ballot amendment to jump the minimum wage. I don't know how many employees Disney has in Florida that make less than $15 an hour (maybe someone more in the know can chime in on that), but if that amendment passes, I am sure Disney will have to take that into consideration in their long term planning. Another reason the workforce may have to be reconfigured.

Disney had already implemented a plan to increase their minimum wage for union castmembers to $15 by the end of 2021. Their current minimum is $13.00/hr. It is supposed to increase to $14 next month (October) and then to $15 in October 2021. I do not know what percentage of castmembers that covers.

https://money.com/walt-disney-world-minimum-wage-contract/

 

[yulilin3]

Yep. This isn't unexpected. Not even Disney is immune to economic forces. It's not just the revenue lost during the shutdowns, but it's compounded over time due to the loss of attendance. This is likely only the beginning of layoffs and restructuring that will be ongoing for months. Projects that were still in the design and imagineering phases will now likely be shelved or scaled way back. Entertainment spending will be scaled back. Labor will be reconfigured to be more efficient.

Even when this COVID stuff is over, it will take perhaps years for attendance to fully return. And even then Disney will be paying back loans it took out to keep afloat now. The impact of this will be felt LONG into the future. It's likely going to permanently change the company......and probably the entire industry.

Also what may play a factor in the long-term planning is that Florida is considering a ballot amendment to jump the minimum wage. I don't know how many employees Disney has in Florida that make less than $15 an hour (maybe someone more in the know can chime in on that), but if that amendment passes, I am sure Disney will have to take that into consideration in their long term planning. Another reason the workforce may have to be reconfigured.

And just to add people tend to forget Disney is not just the theme parks, they are losing billions of dollars in t.v. and movies, repercussions of 4 months of closure will be felt for many many years

 

[TheMaxRebo]

1000% this. While paying their health insurance was a wonderful thing to do, keeping them in limbo forever isn’t really fair.

I feel awful for those furloughed. It didn’t have to be like this, but it’s not really Disney’s fault.

And giving them 90 days severance is better than a lot get (though honestly not sure what % will get that)

It sucks all the way around - but I truly don't think the Disney execs want to be jerks

 

[rteetz]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1311150637535703040

 

[1lilspark]

i think it doesn’t just have to deal with DL being closed indefinitely despite WDW being open 3 months (tbh with DL being a more condensed park I know there are more logistical issues to work through with distance even with a government green light)

it says parks/consumer products so also take into consideration the fact that it seems the Disney store like many other companies (even pre pandemic ) are doing away with brick and mortar retail

and a slew of entertainment cuts at wdw (because live music is costly and is not conducive to trying to keep people moving through lobby’s/bars/sidewalks)

I also follow an imagineer who is fairly certain she is getting cut cause her project most likely will be indefinitely delayed

 

[gottalovepluto]

Good knife in the back for the new uppers first task. Disney will struggle to get staff when they need them after this.

Doubt it. Many will still be out of jobs when Disney resumes hiring and the longer a person is jobless the more willing they are to take anything. And a year or two of being jobless or working in something you totally freaking hate? Yeah, Disney won’t have problems hiring. And don’t forget their little aces in the hole- CP program and international hires.

 

[CastAStone]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1311150637535703040

This one feels more like a threat directed at the Governor. The WDW ones feel more like them trying to solve a financial problem.

 

[andyman8]

This one feels more like a threat directed at the Governor. The WDW ones feel more like them trying to solve a financial problem.

But if they really wanted to make this about California, they would've singled out the DL CMs, threatened a widespread layoff on X number of DLR CMs, and then announced the DLR layoffs after inaction by the state. Even that strategy hasn't proven particularly effective, just ask the airlines. Their attaching CA to this giant lump sum layoff (Disney hasn't officially broken down the numbers at each resort) is more likely an attempt to A) ease the blow to shareholders (i.e. "it's not our fault" and "it's nothing wrong with our business") and B) to see if they can't catch the Governor's attention while doing something they were going to do anyway.

I know a lot of Disney fans (not directing this at you, CastAStone) want to make this about California/blame the state, but the reality is that this would've happened either way. WDW is not operating (and will not be for the foreseeable future) at a level that can sustain even a good chunk of its current workforce. Likewise, even if it were open, DLR would not be operating at a level that would sustain much of its workforce. The number may have been very slightly lower with DLR open, but the reality is that they're keeping the enough employees on to "open" DLR, whenever that happens (and based on their actions, they seem to think it'll happen this year). Disney had to make a really tough decision, and they're not the only business having to make these kind of decisions right now. And while they didn't necessarily do anything "wrong" to have to make a decision like this, it's their decision, not California's.

And for what it's worth, I do think they should've kept their corporate leaders' pay reduced. When the whole ship is taking on water, it's everyone's job to grab a bucket and offload whatever they can. Yes, I know that's not how business works. Yes, I know they're paid to make the "tough decisions," but it's a lot harder to take on that attitude after you've spent a good chunk of your afternoon and evening talking to people (far too young to be jaded about the world and business) about whether or not they'll have a job come this weekend. That's not Disney's fault, but it stings even more when you think about the executive pay restoration, especially for a company like Disney, which is very big on the whole "We're all Cast Members" thing (so much so that their CEO signs off emails with just his first name). They may not have a choice about the layoffs, but they do have a choice about executive pay. It's also worth noting that Disney's chief competitors in both the theme park (Cedar Fair, NBCUni, Six Flags, etc...) and media worlds (NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, etc...) have not reinstated their full executive pay packages, and some of them are in better positions right now than TWDC.

 

[jerseygal]

Felt SO bad when I read this announcement. There are many CM's who live in the surrounding subdivisions including ours who I will guess will be affected by this for WDW layoffs. This past Sat, we were speaking with some CM's at our pool. We were discussing Fri's announcement for Fl about the elimination of the 50% at restaurants and they seemed very hopeful about the opening of both DL and getting back to work very soon at WDW. Very sad for all the CM's.
The only silver lining regarding their health care is that if there is a life event change, a permanent layoff, they can go immediately on the Federal Exchange, Affordable Care Act, in Florida, Florida Blue Select(Blue Cross/Blue Shield)the most popular Exchange plan is a very decent plan. Obviously all the WDW benefits will be eliminated now.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

But if they really wanted to make this about California, they would've singled out the DL CMs, threatened a widespread layoff on X number of DLR CMs, and then announced the DLR layoffs after inaction by the state. Even that strategy hasn't proven particularly effective, just ask the airlines. Their attaching CA to this giant lump sum layoff (Disney hasn't officially broken down the numbers at each resort) is more likely an attempt to A) ease the blow to shareholders (i.e. "it's not our fault" and "it's nothing wrong with our business") and B) to see if they can't catch the Governor's attention while doing something they were going to do anyway.

I know a lot of Disney fans (not directing this at you, CastAStone) want to make this about California/blame the state, but the reality is that this would've happened either way. WDW is not operating (and will not be for the foreseeable future) at a level that can sustain even a good chunk of its current workforce. Likewise, even if it were open, DLR would not be operating at a level that would sustain much of its workforce. The number may have been very slightly lower with DLR open, but the reality is that they're keeping the enough employees on to "open" DLR, whenever that happens (and based on their actions, they seem to think it'll happen this year). Disney had to make a really tough decision, and they're not the only business having to make these kind of decisions right now. And while they didn't necessarily do anything "wrong" to have to make a decision like this, it's their decision, not California's.

And for what it's worth, I do think they should've kept their corporate leaders' pay reduced. When the whole ship is taking on water, it's everyone's job to grab a bucket and offload whatever they can. Yes, I know that's not how business works. Yes, I know they're paid to make the "tough decisions," but it's a lot harder to take on that attitude after you've spent a good chunk of your afternoon and evening talking to people (far too young to be jaded about the world and business) about whether or not they'll have a job come this weekend. That's not Disney's fault, but it stings even more when you think about the executive pay restoration, especially for a company like Disney, which is very big on the whole "We're all Cast Members" thing (so much so that their CEO signs off emails with just his first name). They may not have a choice about the layoffs, but they do have a choice about executive pay. It's also worth noting that Disney's chief competitors in both the theme park (Cedar Fair, NBCUni, Six Flags, etc...) and media worlds (NBCUniversal, WarnerMedia, etc...) have not reinstated their full executive pay packages, and some of them are in better positions right now than TWDC.

Yeah, I think the whole CA/DLR part was just taking the fight with the governor public even more but wasn't there to position it as the sole reason - just one of the contributing reasons. And even if DLR was open this would have still happened - though perhaps a smaller number of cuts

I agree with you about the pay cut, especially for the very senior level (I do understand it went down the chain a bit to the point where it was impacting the ability of some to pay their bills, etc so maybe restore at the lower levels) ... Plus and extra dividend and most of that money would be made back for a lot of them anyway and would be a better optics

 

[Alicefan]

Sorry if anyone else has already posted about this, but I saw the article today. Another one bites the dust sadly.

https://allears.net/2020/09/29/news...b-will-not-return-to-perform-at-disney-world/

 

[WorldOfPooh]

It's one of the most political comments in this entire topic too

So it's okay then.

 

[WorldOfPooh]

How is your post #48 not political? Did you read the statement in the tweet?
The last paragraph? Not trying to be a jerk, I'm genuinely curious.

Yes, I'm confused. Can we be political or not.

 

[rteetz]

Yes, I'm confused. Can we be political or not.

Political discussion is not allowed. That’s pretty clear.