Disney lays off 28,000 employees, blames California’s “unwillingness” to lift COVID-19 restrictions

Disney has laid off tens of thousands of employees from its parks division, wagging a finger at Califorina for not lifting COVID-19 restrictions.

Disney has laid off 28,000 people across its Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products segment, CNBC reports. Head of parks Josh D’Amaro detailed the “difficult decisions” in a letter sent to employees today.

“As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy,” D’Amaro wrote. “For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.”

Of the employees let go, 67% were part-time workers. Last year, the Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products division accounted for 37% of the company’s $69.6 billion in total revenue, so this is a big move.

Obviously, the Disney parks have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the ones in California. Disney parks in Florida, Paris, Shanghai, Japan and Hong Kong have reopened and are operating at limited capacity, but the ones in Anaheim have remained shut down. D’Amaro was sure to point the finger at the state of California for not lifting coronavirus restrictions in his statement:

This announcement comes on the same day that Disney announced it would be making a sequel to the highly lucrative The Lion King movie, with Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins in the director’s chair. As others have noted, it seems a little odd to embark on a new $100 million-plus movie on the same day when you lay off thousands of your park staff, but I don’t have their balance sheets in front of me.

You can read D’Amaro’s entire letter to his employees below:

"Team,I write this note to you today to share some difficult decisions that we have had to make regarding our Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products organization.Let me start with my belief that the heart and soul of our business is and always will be people. Just like all of you, I love what I do. I also love being surrounded by people who think about their roles as more than jobs, but as opportunities to be a part of something special, something different, and something truly magical.Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we were forced to close our businesses around the world. Few of us could have imagined how significantly the pandemic would impact us — both at work and in our daily lives. We initially hoped that this situation would be short-lived, and that we would recover quickly and return to normal. Seven months later, we find that has not been the case. And, as a result, today we are now forced to reduce the size of our team across executive, salaried, and hourly roles.As you can imagine, a decision of this magnitude is not easy. For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company. We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic.Thank you for your dedication, patience and understanding during these difficult times. I know that these changes will be challenging. It will take time for all of us to process this information and its impact. We will be scheduling appointments with our affected salaried and non-union hourly employees over the next few days. Additionally, today we will begin the process of discussing next steps with unions. We encourage you to visit The Hub or the WDI Homepage for any support you may need.For those who will be affected by this decision, I want to thank you for all that you have done for our company and our guests. While we don’t know when the pandemic will be behind us, we are confident in our resilience, and hope to welcome back Cast Members and employees when we can.Most sincerely,Josh D’AmaroChairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products"

It’s definitely sobering news. Our hearts go our to the employees and their families.

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