London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Disney to axe 7,000 jobs in bid to cut costs

Disney to axe 7,000 jobs in bid to cut costs

In his first set of results since Disney chief executive Bob Iger came out of retirement - and dethroned his appointee - a billion dollar restructuring is announced, ceding to investor pressure over spending.

Around 7,000 jobs are to go at Disney - about 3.6% of the workforce - as a multi-billion dollar cost saving restructuring was announced by chief executive Bob Iger in his battle to improve the company's finances.

It was Mr Iger's first quarterly results announcement since he retook control of the entertainment giant in late November following a shareholder backlash over its performance.

He revealed plans to save $5.5bn in costs under a "significant transformation" to improve profitability at the company's streaming business, which lost more than $1bn in the October-December quarter as Disney+ subscriptions fell.

An earlier $1.5bn quarterly group loss led to the departure late last year of Iger appointee, Bob Chapek.

Mr Iger, who had stepped down from the top job in 2020, told investors on Wednesday night: "This reorganisation will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated approach to our operations.

"We are committed to running efficiently, especially in a challenging environment."

At the same time he revealed plans for sequels of some of the company's biggest animated franchises such as Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia.


While group net profits came in at $1.8bn, subscribers of the Disney+ streaming service dropped by 2.4 million, the first decline since the platform was launched, but revenues were still up and better than Wall Street forecasts as theme parks brought in operating profit of $3.1bn during the quarter.

Despite the cost of living crisis the theme park profit is a 25% increase from a year earlier, helped by strong attendance over Christmas.

As seen more generally in the streaming industry, Disney+ subscriptions fell: by the end of last year there were 161.8 million people paying to access the Disney+ service - down from 164.2 million on 1 October, Disney said in its results announcement for the first three months of its 2023 financial year.

The fall came as the cost of a monthly ad-free subscription was upped from $7.99 (£6.61) to $10.99 (£9.10) in December.

Despite the Disney+ drop and losses, revenues overall came in ahead of analyst estimates at $23.51bn (£19.47bn).

Mr Iger said streaming remained Disney's top priority. He said the company would "focus even more on our core brands and franchises" and "aggressively curate our general entertainment content".

He also said he would ask the company's board to restore the shareholder dividend by year end.

Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said the initial dividend would likely be a "small fraction" of the pre-COVID level with a plan to increase it over time.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×