Disney Hands Managers Cost-Cut Targets Ahead of Early-2027 Layoffs
Disney has started giving managers targets for its next round of company-wide job cuts, and some have been asked to find annual cost savings of as much as 20%. Deadline reports that the next round is timed for early 2027, most likely January.
The numbers are still being pieced together. Reuters, citing a Bloomberg News report published on 3 November, said Disney was considering cutting thousands of jobs. In October, The Wall Street Journal reported a separate restructuring of the television business that would bring hundreds of layoffs and merge some divisions. That plan is being led by Chairman Debra O'Connell, and it may not be finished before the end of the year.
O'Connell was named Chairman of Disney Entertainment in March. Her latest moves reshape who reports to whom in the television side of the company. Craig Erwich, President of Disney Television Group, already oversees ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals. Now he also takes on 20th Television, the studio behind many scripted series, and Freeform, the cable channel. Karey Burke, President of 20th Television, reports to Erwich. Simran Sethi is President of Scripted Programming for Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.
Some pieces sit outside her reach. FX stays outside O'Connell's domain, with FX Chairman John Landgraf reporting to Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden. National Geographic Content, led by President Courteney Monroe, does report to O'Connell.
Earlier changes add to the picture. 20th Television had already absorbed Touchstone Television and ABC Signature. Disney also sold its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to Hearst for $1.2 billion, according to Deadline.
Disney has made large cuts before. In February 2023, it announced a plan to cut 7,000 jobs, which Reuters estimated at 3.6% of its global workforce. In April 2026, the company planned to eliminate about 1,000 positions, as Reuters reported at the time.
What does this mean on the ground? A layoff target is a number handed to a manager, and the people behind it are the ones who feel it: the staff in offices, the producers who keep a show on schedule, and the writers and crews who rely on steady work. Reorganising who signs off on which series can also change which stories get made. For now, the timing is the clearest detail: the cuts are expected in early 2027, and the full shape of the restructuring is still being settled.
