Disney Plans Layoffs For Studio, Consumer Products Divisions

Disney will soon begin a series of layoffs in its studio and consumer products divisions.

CEO Bob Iger is reportedly looking to cut some costs after evaluating a recent internal audit. The layoffs are scheduled to begin within the next two weeks.

It’s believed that most of the layoffs at Disney will come from the studio and consumer products division of the company. It’s currently unknown how many jobs are on the line.

Although the consumer products division experienced a small sales growth in the last quarter, the studio has struggled in recent months. Reports suggest this division experienced a 43 percent decline due to the weakness of the home video market.

“After delivering another record year of growth in 2012, we’re off to a solid start in fiscal 2013. Our ongoing success is driven by our long-term strategy, the strength of our brands and businesses, and our high quality family entertainment,” Iger explained in February.

It’s also believed Disney will layoff several people from its animation division. The studio had no comment on the situation as of this writing. It’s also unknown just how many employees in the animation department will be affected by the upcoming layoffs.

News of the company’s upcoming plans arrive days after the shuttering of LucasArts. The company acquired the game developer after its deal with Lucasfilm last year. A number of upcoming Star Wars-based video games were scrapped as a result of this decision.

Lucasfilm said in a statement:

“After evaluating our position in the games market, we’ve decided to shift LucasArts from an internal development to a licensing model, minimizing the company’s risk while achieving a broader portfolio of quality Star Wars games. As a result of this change, we’ve had layoffs across the organization. We are incredibly appreciative and proud of the talented teams who have been developing our new titles.”

What do you think about the upcoming layoffs at Disney? Were you disappointed when LucasArts was closed earlier this week?