Disney to lay off up to 1,000 workers

Entertainment giant Disney is cutting up to 1,000 marketing-related jobs under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, according to reports.

The job cuts are linked to the appointment of Asad Ayaz as the company’s chief marketing and brand officer, according to Deadline.

Mr. Ayaz reports to Mr. D’Amaro, who landed the top job at Disney last month, replacing two-time CEO Bob Iger.

Mr. Ayaz’s appointment over the winter marks the first time that Disney has centralized the marketing operations for its media portfolio and theme parks under one person, according to CNBC.

The layoffs are the latest in a line of job cuts dating to 2022. Most of the jobs were taken out of Disney’s entertainment division, ESPN and its corporate operations, according to The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the number of employees dedicated to Disney theme parks and the Disney cruise line has grown.

At the end of 2025, around 80% of Disney’s roughly 231,000 employees worked in the Experiences division that includes the theme parks, cruise line and consumer products, according to the Journal.