www.themeparkinsider.com: In light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic – exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen – we have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels, having kept non-working Cast Members on furlough since April, while paying healthcare benefits.
8 comments:
The interesting thing is that Disney had already furloughed most of its employees back in March when the pandemic hit the states majorly for the first time. What I'm curious to see is how they deal with re-opening in California because it doesn't look like California wants to re open anytime soon. There is also a greater culture shift in California then there is in other parts of the country because the effects of Coronavirus is a lot more prevalent and you feel more unsafe due to both the virus but also the nature of how people treat it in the area. Also, it was reported that these amusement parks are actually losing money due to reopening because they're operating at half capacity and not making enough money to keep on floating. I just hope that there is a stimulus bill passed so that these 28,000 workers can continue to collect unemployment because it isn't their fault that amusement parks are just hubs for diseases in 2020.
The most magical place on earth just got hit with a huge dose of reality. It is truly a beautiful thing that Disney was able to hold off on the lay off as long as they did, and were able to continue to provide their employees with benefits while in the most uncertain and terrifying times of COVID. COVID still continues to spread which makes places such as theme parks breeding grounds for children and at-risk groups to catch the disease. While I would love to see Disney Land back to normal and spreading cheer in these depressing times, it just still isn’t safe to do so. My heart goes out to all the employees that were waiting with faded breath for the day they could return to the park only to be met with a lay off. The entertainment industry is being hit so hard across the entire country, which is so ironic in a heartbreaking way considering what must people need right now is a break from all the gloom to be entertained and smile again.
This sucks. So much. Like what kind of disgusting profit margin are they trying to hold that they need to fire TWENTY EIGHT THOUSAND PEOPLE???? They already do not pay their employees fair wages, so was this their last resort? Or do they consider these people expendable? Apparently it is option two.. Oh, and did you know that after announcing this, they announced that their executive staff would be returning to full pay after a few months of reduced pandemic pay???? Disney is disgustingly rich. In so many sectors. And they are going to continue to pay the hiked salaries of their executive staff instead of keeping their working class employees on payroll in a pandemic, when jobs and income are scarce. This is so sick. Now, potentially 28,000 families might be in fear of losing health insurance in a state with little to no COVID restrictions, and they could still very well end up in the hospital from COVID. I am just at a loss for words. There is no reason this should happen.
I am one hundred percent with Sammy on this. Disney has a lot of money; I do not think this is a secret. To just lay off twenty eight thousand people is heartbreaking. Their CEOs and executive staff are disgustingly overpaid already. There has to be monies somewhere that can be allocated. It is poor taste that the ‘happiest place on earth’ cannot, or will not, provide for its most at risk employees right now during this pandemic. Also being in a state where restrictions are already lax? My heart breaks for these employees. If ONLY there were a competent government (federal and state) that worked to actually protect its people from harm and unemployment. If ONLY we had universal healthcare so workers were not reliant on private health providers to make sure they stay healthy during a pandemic. A lot of issues I think would be nonexistent or at least would be less drastic as this is here.
This news is not the saddest as of late, but it is still heart wrenching to me. It started as a number and since the announcement, waves of layoffs and phone calls have been occurring. No one under the Disney umbrella knows if their job is safe. From the Polynesian Resort to Lucasfilm animation artists, all jobs are on the line, and people are being tossed into one of the worst job markets in recent history. 28,000 is a number, but each and every one of that 28,000 is a person, sometimes supporting someone beyond themselves. Many people have dedicated their life to Disney, only to have that ripped away. It is more than losing a job, as it often is in any industry someone is happy to work in long term. Since this article was published, Walt Disney World News Today reported that the California theme parks will not be able to open before November. With the anticipated opening of Marvel’s Avengers Campus having been this summer, Disney is losing money on many sides and delaying advancement on many projects. AT the same time, it is so sad to see them letting go of their "magic makers" when they are still making money outside of the parks themselves. Luckily, the Cast Members who are unionized are at least being advocated for on a benefits perspective, but it is still terrible and not all of the cast is in the unions. It is so sad that these people barely got to return to work, have no idea what the future will hold, and no longer have the additional unemployment assistance. I wish them all of the best. Many of them were there for all of the college participants when they were let go, and now they need all of the support we can give them.
-Ariel Bernhard
I agree with what others have said on this. Disney has enough money to continue paying their employees. The company has probably seen a huge decrease in revenue from their parks but since the pandemic hit they have done really well with their streaming service. I also think in a time like this CEOs need to be willing to take a pay cut in order to make sure their employees have health insurance in the middle of a pandemic! It’s inhuman to treat employs as numbers that they can just cut when needed. Dan Price is an example of a CEO that took a huge pay cut so that he can pay all his employees at least 70,000 a year and his companies profits have been growing steadily the past few years. It’s a great example of how companies can make a profit while paying their employees a living wage, especially a giant like Disney. Now, some could argue that those part time parks worker should go find different work in a different industry that is alive during the pandemic, but that’s easier said than done. I hope the employees were at least given months in advance in order to find a replacement job and different insurance provider.
It is kind of jarring to see a titan company like Disney be affected by the pandemic. I wonder if the company can truly not afford these employees. The company owns so many properties that I feel as though their profits are almost infinite. Something about such a ludicrously wealthy company mass laying off so many employees just does not sit right with me. However, it does truly put in perspective that everyone is affected by the pandemic, even companies and industries thought to be invincible. Disney must be earning much less money now, considering that its profits lie in movie production, travel and entertainment, so it makes sense that they would eventually need to make cuts for a massive company that goes months without profit. It is just sad to see that loss reflected onto the workers that truly need their jobs or their income, and they are left jobless in a pandemic.
It’s heartbreaking to keep seeing people and artists continue to lose their jobs during this virus. A lot of businesses have needed to lay off some of their workers due to the impact of COVID, but I’m little bit surprised it took Disney this long to do so, and that they’re letting go of so many people. I’m honestly not surprised that even if Disney had the money to keep all of them for a while that they let people go. Large corporations with lots of money are not known for caring about the wellbeing of the individuals over their profits. Like others have said, it’s pretty gross. One thing that catches me in the article is that they said this was “exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen,” as if there isn’t a deadly pandemic going around that’s killed nearly 210 thousand people? Of course the state shouldn’t let theme parks be reopened - those are not known for being the most cleanly of places.
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