The Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday it is trimming its payroll by some 7,000 employees, becoming the latest major firm to cut jobs as economic uncertainty weighs.
The Mouse House said the move is part of a major restructuring aimed at saving the company billions of dollars, and was announced by CEO Bob Iger during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
Disney said it plans to save $5.5 billion in its overhaul, cutting $1.5 billion in operating costs and another $3 billion from reductions in non-sports content — including the job cuts.
Disney shares surged in extended trading following the announcement and after the company beat Wall Street expectations with earnings per share of $.99, besting analyst’s estimate of $.78.
The company is the latest in a string of major firms to announce layoffs in the thousands in recent months, following Wall Street titans including Goldman Sachs and tech giants such as Amazon and Google parent Alphabet.