Disney to slash 28,000 jobs in US theme parks, cruise ships and retail stores in one of the biggest layoffs in the coronavirus era

The move affects theme parks, cruise ships and retail businesses, including executives and salaried employees, although 67 per cent of those terminated are part-time workers

Disney’s staff totalled 223,000 at the end of the last financial year, which ended in September 2019

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Lanes leading to the entrance of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom sit empty on March 24, 2020 during its second week of closure in response to the coronavirus pandemic in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Orlando Sentinel via AP

Published: 1:22pm, 30 Sep 2020Updated: 1:22pm, 30 Sep 2020

Walt Disney is slashing 28,000 workers in its slumping US resort business, marking of one of the deepest workforce reductions of the Covid-19 era.

The belt-tightening move affects the company’s theme parks, cruise ships and retail businesses, Disney said on Tuesday. That includes executives and salaried employees, although 67 per cent of those being terminated are part-time workers. Disney is offering benefits to the workers being eliminated, including 90 days of job-placement services.

The cutbacks jarred investors, who sent the shares down almost 2 per cent in late trading. The stock was already down 13 per cent this year.

It’s the latest sign that travel and other experiences will be slow to recover from the pandemic. Disney joins airlines and other travel-reliant businesses in scaling back their workforces. American Airlines Group has warned that it could furlough 19,000 employees, while United Airlines Holdings is planning to cut about 12,000.

Disney’s move also spotlights its troubles with California, which has been slower than other areas to lift restrictions on theme parks.

The company’s domestic parks employed more than 100,000 before the pandemic, but that doesn’t include the cruise lines and other divisions. Its workforce totalled 223,000 at the end of the last financial year, which ended in September 2019.

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Disney to slash 28,000 jobs in US theme parks, cruise ships and retail stores in one of the biggest layoffs in the coronavirus era

The move affects theme parks, cruise ships and retail businesses, including executives and salaried employees, although 67 per cent of those terminated are part-time workers Disney’s staff totalled 223,000 at the end of the last financial year, which ended in September 2019

The move affects theme parks, cruise ships and retail businesses, including executives and salaried employees, although 67 per cent of those terminated are part-time workers

Disney’s staff totalled 223,000 at the end of the last financial year, which ended in September 2019