Disney had a round of layoffs today, reportedly hitting Pixar and National Geographic the hardest. This is, somehow, the company’s third round of layoffs in 2026, something that seems to have become so routine that Disney’s CEO couldn’t even be bothered to send a memo about it this time.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Disney has cut “hundreds of jobs.” In addition to Pixar and National Geographic, ESPN has also been affected, with some on-air contributors losing their jobs alongside behind-the-scenes workers. You wouldn’t think it possible for Disney to do worse by Nat Geo, whose iconic magazine Disney gutted in 2023, but here we are. Pixar has lost less than 10% of its staff, according to the Los Angeles Times, and “the cuts are concentrated mostly in production and operations.” Cartoon Brew reports that the company will also shorten its production schedule on movies going forward.
As The Hollywood Reporter highlights, this is Disney’s third round of layoffs in 2026. The company saw job losses in January when it restructured its marketing department. Josh D’Amaro became CEO in March, and in April laid off 1000 people.
In an effort to explain the reasoning behind today’s cuts, as a news outlet is wont to do in such situations, THR was reduced to quoting D’Amaro’s memo about his April cuts, because, as the outlet notes, “D’Amaro is not believed to have sent a memo about the latest round of cuts.” Deadline also reported that D’Amaro “is not expected to issue any additional communication about today’s actions.”
In fairness, I suppose, to Disney leadership, three rounds of layoffs in seven months–just barely over halfway through the calendar year–has got to be a pretty hard thing to explain beyond “we have no idea what we’re doing.” D’Amaro wrote that April’s cuts “reflect our continual evaluation of how to more effectively manage our resources and reinvest in our businesses,” something I guess he didn’t figure out with his first cuts or the ones before he took over. He also wrote that “Compassion and respect remain at the heart of our company,” another statement that doesn’t quite ring true today, when it appears the boss can’t even be bothered to acknowledge the people whose lives he’s upending.
CEO layoff memos are generally bullshit, but one comes to expect them as part of the all-too-common choreography of these things. At the very least, it’s polite to acknowledge that a bunch of people are losing their jobs because of you. But maybe, three layoffs into the year, there isn’t really anything left to say.
