Disney Plans Job Cuts And Hiring Freeze; CEO Bob Chapek Anticipates 'Tough And Uncomfortable Decisions'

Amidst economic uncertainty, Walt Disney Co DIS is reportedly planning to freeze hiring and cut some jobs. In addition, the media conglomerate has reported its quarterly results with an operating loss of $1.47 billion for its consumer segment. 

The revenue for the company's Media and Entertainment segment was $12.7 billion, down 3% year-over-year. The operating income in the fourth quarter was down 91% for the Media segment and up over 100% for the Parks segment.

According to a Reuters report, Disney's CEO Bob Chapek issued an internal memo saying the company is instituting a targeted hiring freeze and anticipates "some small staff reductions." 

"Hiring for the small subset of the most critical, business-driving positions will continue, but all other roles are on hold. Again, your segment leaders and HR teams have more specific details on how this will apply to your teams," Chapek said in the memo. 

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"We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions. But that is just what leadership requires, and I thank you in advance for stepping up during this important time," Chapek wrote.

"While certain macroeconomic factors are out of our control, meeting these goals requires all of us to continue doing our part to manage the things we can control - most notably, our costs," Chapek wrote in the memo.

"As we work through this evaluation process, we will look at every avenue of operations and labor to find savings, and we anticipate some staff reductions as part of this review," he added.

Last week, the company said Disney+ added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter. In addition, the company said streaming service would become profitable in fiscal 2024, with losses having peaked in the quarter.

In December, Disney is set to launch its ad-supported version of Disney+. In addition, the company will raise the price of its existing basic plan, which means subscribers can either keep the ad-supported plan at the same price or pay more for the ad-free version.

Photo: Created with an image from Walt Disney Television on flickr