Hundreds Laid Off in Film and TV Divisions
Disney Plus Falls to Last Place in Korea
Global content giant Disney has initiated layoffs involving hundreds of employees in its film and TV divisions. Disney has already carried out multiple rounds of restructuring, and analysts interpret this additional wave of layoffs as evidence that the downturn in the entertainment industry is deepening.
On June 2 (local time), major foreign media outlets, including Bloomberg, reported that Disney began layoffs on this day. The layoffs span key departments within the film and TV business, including marketing, publicity, casting, content development, and corporate finance.
In February of last year, Disney announced a large-scale layoff of about 7,000 employees, and in March of this year, it cut approximately 200 positions at its subsidiaries ABC and TV Entertainment Network. This is seen as part of a broader industry trend where a reduction in the number of content productions is leading to overall employment cuts.
As of the end of the last fiscal year, Disney had approximately 233,000 employees worldwide, of whom 76% were full-time.
Disney Plus, which has fallen to last place in subscriber numbers, trailing behind domestic competing platforms. The photo shows the Korean drama "Nine Puzzle" provided by Disney Plus. Official Disney video capture.
The crisis facing Disney is also clearly evident in the Korean market. In April, Disney's online video service (OTT) Disney Plus recorded just 1.93 million monthly active users in Korea, marking its lowest figure since entering the market.
Although Disney Plus entered the Korean market ambitiously in 2021, positioning itself as a competitor to Netflix, it has now fallen to last place in subscriber numbers, trailing behind domestic platforms such as Tving, Coupang Play, and Wavve. Some in the industry have even raised the possibility that Disney may withdraw from the Korean market if the current trend continues.
Disney has initiated layoffs involving hundreds of employees in its film and TV divisions. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
Starting June 24, Disney Plus will implement a new policy restricting account sharing. Under this policy, only family members living in the same household will be able to share an account; others will need to purchase a separate membership or pay an additional fee. This effectively amounts to a price increase. While this appears to be a response to declining user numbers, it could lead to backlash from consumers.
Not only Disney, but also competitors such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast, and Paramount have undertaken business restructuring and layoffs over the past two years, indicating that difficult conditions persist across the global entertainment industry.
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