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COVID-19: Disney to sack 28,000 staff, says decision ‘heartbreaking’

DisneyWorld

*Coronavirus-induced closures have led to billions of Dollars in operating income loss during Q2, Q3 2020, says Josh D’Amaro, Head of Parks at Disney

*California’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen has only worsened Disney’s problems

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As a result of the damaging impacts of the outbreak of novel Coronavirus disease (COVI-19) on individuals, businesses, organisations and governments worldwide, Disney has also announced that it is making the “difficult” decision to lay off 28,000 employees.

ConsumerConnect gathered that the lay-offs would mainly affect those working at the company’s United States (US) theme parks, but the company will also lay off some employees working at its Consumer Products Division.

Josh D’Amaro, Head of Parks at Disney, in a statement said that COVID-19 pandemic had led to months of theme park closures.

The closures have led to billions of dollars in operating income loss during the second and third quarters.

Though Disney’s Florida parks have reopened with new safety measures in place, Disneyland in California, US, remains shut down.

According to the Head of Parks, California’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen has only worsened Disney’s problems.

D’Amaro stated: “We have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels.”

Though he noted that the open parks are operating under limited visitor capacity, unfortunately, there is still uncertainty about how long the pandemic will last.

In a memo to employees Tuesday, D’Amaro had said that “for the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company.

“We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.”

He called the decision to lay off employees “heartbreaking”, but said that it was the “only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business.”

Nonetheless, Disney’s parks in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Paris, in France, aren’t affected by the announcement, report said.

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