“In the entertainment industry, the competition for consumer attention has never been fiercer, and new entrants must hit the ground running with high-quality, high-profile content,” a Disney spokeswoman said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. The shift comes after mass firings in 2023 in which about 7,000 jobs were eliminated as part of a $5.5 billion savings campaign spearheaded by CEO Bob Iger.

Industry Changes and Firm Performance
And the continuing layoffs are part of the broader move away from traditional cable TV toward streaming. Disney, the owner of popular brands like Marvel, ESPN and Hulu, is responding to those changes as more fans gravitate to digital content.

The company now has about 233,000 employees, more than 60,000 of them working outside the United States. Disney reported robust financial results earlier this year despite the cost-cutting efforts. In the first three months of 2025, the company earned $23.6 billion in sales, a 7 percent increase, from the same period in 2024. The increase was primarily on a surge in Disney+ streaming subscribers.

Box Office Malaise Was Mixed
This year Disney came out with several new titles, including Captain America: Brave New World and a live-action reimagining of Snow White. While Snow White was a box office disappointment, and was critically panned.

Conversely, the animated film Lilo & Stitch was very successful, taking the U.S. holiday weekend box office by storm. The movie has taken in more than $610 million worldwide since its May release, according to industry data.

Although Disney is grappling with a shift in viewing habits, its most recent financial results and successful releases show that the company is trying to strike a balance between being innovative and controlling costs.