The Walt Disney Company has begun 7.000 layoffs announced earlier this year as it seeks to control costs and create a "streamlined" business.
This was stated in a letter from CEO Bob Iger that he sent to employees, reports Reuters.
Several of the company's major divisions (Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) will be affected, a Reuters source said.
ESPN, the American sports channel owned by Walt Disney, was not included in this week's round of cuts, but is expected to be in later rounds.
The entertainment industry has suffered a downturn since its early, euphoric embrace of video streaming, when established media companies lost billions following the launch of competitors to Netflix.
They began reining in spending when Netflix posted its first subscriber loss in early 2022 and Wall Street began prioritizing profitability over subscriber growth.
Iger said Disney will begin notifying the first group of employees affected by the layoffs within the next four days. A second, larger round of job cuts will take place in April, "with several thousand more cuts." The final round will begin before the start of the summer, the letter states.
The Burbank entertainment conglomerate announced in February that it would eliminate 7.000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5,5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable.
"The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly," Iger wrote, noting that many "bring a lifelong passion for Disney to their work."
The company has been closely guarding details of the layoffs, although insiders expected the cuts to come before Disney's annual shareholder meeting on April 3.
Anxiety was mounting at Disney as rumors swirled about areas of potential cuts.
"It's a dark, black box," one Disney executive told Reuters last week.
Many expected the cuts to fall in Disney's media and entertainment division, which was eliminated in a corporate restructuring. The unit has been without a leader since the departure of Karem Daniel in November, shortly after Iger returned as the company's CEO.
"It's been a long time in the making," analyst Michael Nathanson said, adding that the company first began "whispering" about the need to meet costs last fall, when Bob Capek was still Disney's chief executive.
Josh D'Amaro, president of Disney Parks, sent a memo to theme park employees in February warning that the profitable division would experience cuts.
Officials from the two unions that represent cast members at Walt Disney Park in Orlando, Florida, said the layoffs are not expected to affect guest-facing services.
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