Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden faced pointed questions about the company's repeated rounds of layoffs and restructuring during an appearance at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles.
Bloomberg journalist Lucas Shaw challenged Walden over the frequency of Disney's workforce reductions, noting that the company has undergone repeated cuts and reorganisations over the past several years.
The exchange came days after Disney confirmed another round of job reductions affecting several hundred employees, primarily in human resources and technology. The latest cuts have added to a wider series of workforce reductions across the entertainment giant.
Lucas Shaw Questions Disney's Repeated Restructuring
During the Bloomberg event, Shaw questioned why Disney continues to restructure and reduce its workforce after thousands of employees have already left the company.
He asked Walden how there could still be people to cut and how the company could continue restructuring after so many previous rounds of job reductions.
The question highlighted the scale and frequency of Disney's organisational changes, which have continued under the leadership of CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over as chief executive in March 2026.
Lucas Shaw at Bloomberg asks Disney president Dana Walden: "I feel like over the last 3 or 4 years every six months you guys are cutting people, restructuring... I'm just wondering how are there still people to fire, and how is there still restructuring when you have fired thousands of people?"
by u/No-Hall-3485 in Fauxmoi
Walden pushed back on the suggestion that Disney was simply carrying out layoffs every few months. According to Bloomberg's podcast description of the interview, she said the company is not 'firing people every six months', while acknowledging that Disney must continually examine how its businesses are structured.
Dana Walden Says Layoffs Are 'Extremely Painful'
Walden described the process of reducing the workforce as "extremely painful" and acknowledged that some of the people affected were colleagues she had worked with for much of her career.
She said Disney had recently used a voluntary retirement programme, which she described as providing long-serving executives with the opportunity to decide whether the timing was right for them to leave or remain with the company.
'It is extremely painful,' Walden said, adding that Disney had 'exited colleagues' with whom she had worked for most of her career.
Her comments came as Disney continues to consolidate parts of its business in response to changes across the entertainment industry.
Walden argued that the company needs to keep evaluating its organisational structure, including the size and design of its operations.
Disney Has Already Announced Thousands of Job Cuts
Disney's latest restructuring follows several major rounds of layoffs.
The company eliminated approximately 1,000 positions in April 2026, with cuts affecting areas including marketing, studios, television, ESPN, products, technology and corporate functions. Another round announced in September affected several hundred employees, particularly in human resources and technology.
The latest reductions follow the much larger cost-cutting programme launched under former CEO Bob Iger in 2023, when Disney announced plans to eliminate about 7,000 jobs as part of a broader effort to reduce costs by $5.5 billion.
Disney employed approximately 231,000 people at the end of its 2025 financial year, although the majority of those workers were employed in the company's theme parks business.
Television Restructuring Could Bring More Cuts
The pressure on Disney's workforce is not necessarily over.
The company is planning a major restructuring of its television operations that could result in hundreds more layoffs, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters.
The proposed changes would consolidate several television operations and bring separately run divisions closer together. The businesses involved include ABC Entertainment, 20th Television, Hulu Originals, Disney Kids & Family, National Geographic Content and Freeform.
The restructuring reflects the broader shift from traditional broadcast and cable television towards streaming, as Disney seeks to organise its entertainment operations around changing viewing habits.
Walden said the company was moving towards a more centralised television business rather than maintaining numerous separate organisational structures.
Disney Faces a Changing Entertainment Industry
The continuing restructuring comes at a time when major entertainment companies are attempting to adjust to the financial and technological changes affecting Hollywood.
Traditional television has faced declining audiences and advertising pressures as viewers increasingly move towards streaming services. At the same time, streaming businesses have had to find ways to improve profitability while competing for subscribers and investment.
Technology and automation are also affecting corporate functions. Disney's recent reductions in human resources and technology came alongside wider changes across the industry.
Walden said the entertainment business was continuing to evolve and that Disney needed to adapt to survive and grow.
The exchange with Shaw therefore put Disney's ongoing restructuring strategy directly under scrutiny, as the company continues to balance cost reductions, organisational changes and its investment in the future of streaming and entertainment.
