The Blubber

Walt Disney Company, $DIS, to restructure into 3 divisions, seek $5.5B in cost cuts, and reduce workforce by about 7,000 jobs.

The three units:

• An ESPN division that includes the TV network and the ESPN+ streaming service
• Disney Entertainment, which includes most of its streaming and media operations
• A Parks, Experiences and Products unit

Of those fired, the 7,000 is about 3% of the roughly 220,000 people it employed as of Oct. 1, according to an SEC filing, with roughly 166,000 in the U.S. and about 54,000 internationally.

“We will take a very hard look at the cost of everything we make across television and film,” Iger said on the earnings call.

“We’re not engaged in any conversations or considering a spinoff of ESPN,” Iger said on Wednesday. He said the move was considered “in my absence,” and was concluded it wasn’t the right move for Disney.

“Our company is fueled by storytelling and creativity, and virtually every dollar we earn, every transaction, every interaction with our consumers, emanates from something creative,” Iger said Wednesday. “I have always believed that the best way to spur great creativity is to make sure the people who are managing the creative processes feel empowered.”

See DIS flow: https://unusualwhales.com/stock/dis/overview