Mickey Mouse Massacre: Disney Has Third Round of Layoffs, Hitting ESPN, Pixar, More
The content discusses recent challenges faced by The Walt Disney Company, notably its third round of layoffs within three years, affecting employees across divisions such as ESPN, National Geographic, and notably Pixar Studios. Despite successful releases like “Toy Story 5,” which has earned nearly a billion dollars worldwide, Disney is restructuring due to evolving industry conditions rather than poor box office performance. The layoffs at Pixar, which included 116 job cuts, come amid ongoing industry changes, though the studio remains active with upcoming projects like “Gatto” and “Incredibles 3.” The company emphasizes that these measures are part of resource management and strategic reinvestment. The piece also highlights Disney’s recent financial performance and future prospects amidst the restructuring efforts.
Somebody should call the police to do a local wellness check on the House of Mouse.
Because things do not appear to be okay at the Walt Disney Company.
This week brought with it the news that Disney had commenced its third round of layoffs in as many years — and with still months left to go in 2026.
A Disney representative confirmed with The Wrap that the company was laying off swathes of employees across a number of prominent divisions.
This latest round of Disney layoffs include corporate jobs, roles at ESPN and National Geographic, and multiple positions across the company’s film and television divisions.
But The Wrap noted that it’s actually one of Disney’s most venerable — and recently successful — studios that’s being hit hardest.
The most significant layoffs that occurred during this round happened at Pixar Studios, the studio mastermind behind hit films such as “Toy Story” and “Up.”
Pixar suffered 116 layoffs, despite having just recently released the critically and commercially successful “Toy Story 5.”
(Of note, “Toy Story 5” focused on a straightforward tale about the dangers of excessive screen time, abandoning some of the more controversial elements that have hindered some of their other recent releases.)
“These changes are part of our continual evaluation of how we manage resources and reinvest across the company as our industry continues to evolve,” the Disney representative told The Wrap.
The New York Post described this latest round of layoffs as a “fresh bloodbath,” noting that this has become something of an increasingly common Disney tradition.
In April, Disney had already made sweeping cuts. Before that, there were significant layoffs in 2024 and 2023.
(2023 included some global cuts, as well.)
The Wrap reported that “Toy Story 5” had already cleared $957 million at the global box office — and is well positioned to cross that vaunted billion-dollar mark.
Disney did insist that this latest round of layoffs has more to do with the changing media landscape than poor box office performances.
And despite just losing another 100-plus employees, Pixar still has plenty of work to do at the box office, and they’ll have two big chances to satisfy their Disney bosses in the near future.
Pixar has announced an original feature, “Gatto,” as well as a sequel to the highly-beloved superhero franchise, “Incredibles 3.”
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