Walt Disney Co is considering plans to freeze all hiring and cut jobs as the company faces economic uncertainty due to the losses incurred by its streaming service business. The news was shared on Friday in a memo from Chief Executive Bob Chapek to company leaders.
According to the memo, such recruitment changes are aimed at bringing the Disney+ streaming service to profitability. “While certain macroeconomic factors are out of our control, meeting these goals requires all of us to continue doing our part to manage the things we can control – most notably, our costs,” Chapek explained.
Disney’s fourth-quarter earnings which were released last week fell short of analysts’ expectations, with much of its losses coming from the company’s efforts to push its streaming services. Shares in the company fell by 13% on Wednesday following the release of the results.
Although Disney+ added 12 million subscribers in its fiscal fourth quarter, the streaming platform also incurred an operating loss of nearly $1.5 billion, as revealed in the company’s fourth-quarter fiscal results.
Chapek revealed that he had appointed a task force to assist him in making decisions regarding Disney’s future.