The magic of Disney continues to wilt, this time as a result of layoffs. Disney has announced a new wave of company-wide job cuts this week, affecting several hundred roles, primarily in corporate positions. ESPN, Disney Entertainment Television, Pixar Animation Studios, and National Geographic have all been affected to some degree, although an exact number isn’t available to give us a clear picture of the scale of the cuts.
The company has not made any public statements regarding the layoffs, but this isn’t Disney’s first faceoff with layoffs in 2026. Back in 2026, around 1,000 employees bore the brunt of downsizing efforts, after a previous round of cuts in January affected roles in the marketing division. At the time, newly appointed CEO Josh D’Amaro had explained that the Disney restructuring was a result of efforts to “streamline our operations” and “foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs.” The intention behind the July 2026 Disney job cuts could be the same.
The Pixar layoffs have been particularly noteworthy as the announcement follows the recent success of recent releases like Hoppers and Toy Story 5, grossing nearly $1.4 billion worldwide and showcasing the abilities of the studio operating at its best. As with many of the cuts we have seen recently, particularly with Intel and certain studios at Xbox, these layoffs suggest that companies are increasingly rewarding success with an immediate reduction in numbers to capitalize on the gains, leading workers to ruminate on what it actually takes to stay employed.
Disney has announced layoffs again in 2026, but the company hasn’t revealed its reasoning behind this strategy. (Image: Pexels)
Disney Layoffs in 2026 Carve Out the Entertainment Industry, Following in the Footsteps of the Job Cuts in Tech
While Disney is choosing to remain silent on the job cuts, its decisions speak for its operations, particularly as the news marks the company’s decision to implement this round of layoffs in 2026. It’s unclear just how many roles have been affected, but Deadline was able to offer up some approximate numbers. Under 100 roles have been affected in Disney Entertainment Television, with the majority of the layoffs centered around National Geographic and its cable network and editorial. Around a dozen staff members at ABC News have all been subjected to these changes.
The layoffs at Pixar are rumored to be the most extensive in scale, affecting approximately 100 employees across productions and operations. A source told Variety that the cuts were linked to evolving needs in production volume and the ongoing projects at the studio. It is possible that Disney overhired staff for precious projects who are no longer needed for its leaner operating model, but there are likely other reasons for the cut.
Pixar is getting hit hard in Disney’s latest round of layoffs, and that absolutely sucks for the people losing their jobs.
But the reasoning isn’t difficult to understand.
This is basically what happens in the video game industry. A company staffs up because it needs more… pic.twitter.com/pQTnnxkyXc
— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo) July 22, 2026
It does not appear that any senior roles have been affected by the cuts, however, this does little to diminish the impact of these decisions. Questions have emerged regarding the lack of transparency surrounding these layoffs at Disney and the reasoning behind the silence on a strategy that has already duplicated itself thrice this year.
I can’t prove it, but I feel like Disney announced the recent layoffs when they did just to spite me for saying this. https://t.co/ymaPpW8nLh
— Marngel 🐸🦫🧸 (@MarngelRambles) July 22, 2026
The ESPN Layoffs Are Also Linked to Disney’s Decision-Making
“Worldwide Leader in Sports,” ESPN, which is 72% owned by The Walt Disney Company, has also been affected by restructuring efforts. Unlike with the wider Disney layoffs, the ESPN job cuts do come with an explanation, with a majority of the reductions tied to its recent acquisition of NFL Network. Employees in other parts of ESPN’s operation have also been affected, but no comments have been made on specific departmental reductions.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro explained in a company-wide memo on Tuesday. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources, and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.”
Public-facing personalities like the NFL’s Ryan Clark and Tom Pelissero, and ESPN’s Karl Ravech, Bart Scott, Cam Newton, and Charles Davis have been confirmed to be affected by the cuts. The number of public figures affected by the cuts has left sports fans dazed and confused, uncertain about the future of ESPN.
Disney’s Restructuring Efforts Leave the Global Workforce Feeling Frustrated
If layoffs can plague the people behind the happiest place on earth, what does that mean for workers everywhere else? The Disney layoffs are perhaps more subtle in scale in comparison to some of the reports that have emerged in tech this year, but they are by no means unimportant. Not only has this cycle of cuts left many wondering about Disney’s strategy, but it has also brought up questions regarding the lack of communication.
Frustrated workers are rarely well-placed to do their best work, and this trend of forever layoffs doesn’t help matters. It’s no wonder there are rumors of laid-off employees leaking plots and protected data.
For ESPN, there is the grace of additional transparency and the acquisition to blame, but in this case as well, it is evident that business decisions are often made without considering the potential impact on the workforce. Will Disney attempt to smooth things out with its employees, or will we see another announcement of cuts in the coming months? The latter appears to be a distinct possibility.
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