Disney is cutting around 300 jobs in HR and tech, its third round of layoffs this year

Disney has announced a third round of job cuts, affecting several hundred more employees, as workers had anticipated. The company's spokesperson revealed that the latest layoffs primarily impact individuals in human resources and technology roles. Disney had previously warned of cost-cutting measures in its August earnings report, stating that it is "mid-stream in this work and will provide future updates on progress."

In September, the company's Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer, Horacio Gutierrez, cautioned about "hard choices" regarding staffing investments, including automation of workflows through advanced technologies.

These cuts are not Disney's first since the arrival of new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who replaced Bob Iger earlier this year. In April, D’Amaro led the layoffs of approximately 1,000 employees, citing the need to streamline operations and foster a more agile workforce. Another round of cuts occurred in July, primarily impacting Pixar and National Geographic employees. Overall, there have been three rounds of job cuts this year under D’Amaro's leadership.

Disney's restructuring efforts come amid increasing competition from AI automation and the rise of streaming services in the media industry. Similar to Disney, other Hollywood production companies like Bad Robot and Sony Pictures have also made recent layoffs. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison recently outlined plans to achieve $6 billion in cost savings if the company successfully acquires Warner Brothers.