Disney Looks at Possible Layoffs

by Christopher Freeburn | January 7, 2013 11:13 am

[1]Disney (NYSE:DIS[2]) may trim expenses by laying off unnecessary employees or freezing new hiring[3].

The iconic media company, which reported record profits last year, is mulling staff cuts at a number of its operating units, including its movie studios, sources told Reuters.

While the company hasn’t said anything about the timing or potential size of layoffs, a Disney spokesperson told Reuters the media giant always looks to increase efficiency and reduce redundancy in its operations and is conducting an internal review of spending. A source told Reuters that a hiring freeze was a possible alternative to staff cuts.

An analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott said Disney was likely to cut personnel at its money-losing interactive game division, as well as at its music and movie units.

Despite last year’s high earnings, Disney executives have noted that lackluster home-video sales and the increased costs of keeping the broadcast rights to big-league sports could mitigate profits.

In October, Disney purchased the rights to George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise for $4 billion and announced plans to produce three new installments[4], with the first hitting theaters in 2015.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/01/disney-looks-at-possible-layoffs/

---