The Walt Disney Company has begun a new round of layoffs, cutting several positions across its businesses, including Pixar Animation Studios, National Geographic, Disney Entertainment Television (DET) and ESPN, as it continues its restructuring program.
According to Variety, most of the layoffs on the studio side are at Pixar, while most of the cuts in the television group are at National Geographic. The affected Disney employees were informed Tuesday morning.
In April, Disney had cut about 1,000 employees in marketing functions across Disney’s studios, TV networks, ESPN, product and technology, and corporate groups. Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro said in a memo to employees at the time: “Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney. Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs.”
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The cuts in Pixar are concentrated in production and operations, according to Variety. A source familiar with the layoffs said the changes reflect Pixar’s evolving needs related to production volume and the projects that are in process at the studio. Pixar had released two movies recently — its original film “Hoppers,” and “Toy Story 5.” The movies grossed close to $1.4 billion worldwide.
National Geographic had already undergone significant restructuring in 2024, when approximately 60 employees, representing around 13 per cent of its workforce, were laid off.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, many of the layoffs at ESPN are linked to the integration of NFL Network operations following Disney’s acquisition agreement. Most of the affected roles are behind-the-scenes positions supporting the combined business. However, some on-air personalities, including Ryan Clark, a veteran NFL player-turned-analyst, and broadcaster Karl Ravech were also let go.
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In a memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the company had reviewed its organizational structure following the NFL integration and had taken “difficult decisions” to position the business for the future. While most of the reductions were linked to the NFL transaction, some employees in other ESPN functions were also affected.
According to Reuters, Disney said it is simplifying operations to become faster, more efficient and more technology-driven while continuing to prioritize creativity and innovation. The company employed approximately 231,000 people at the end of fiscal 2025, including around 172,000 employees in the United States and 59,000 internationally.