Disney starts next round of layoffs, impacts ESPN, parks

The Walt Disney Company has started its next round of layoffs.

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Earlier this year, the company announced it was planning on cutting 7,000 jobs in an effort to reduce the company’s costs by $5.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The first of three waves of layoffs hit in March impacting Disney Entertainment; Disney Parks, Experiences and Products; and corporate divisions, but ESPN was not among the initial layoffs.

The second round, which started Monday and will continue through Thursday, was communicated to employees in a memo from Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, Deadline reported.

The memo read in part: “These are hard decisions and not ones we take lightly – but every decision has been made with considerable thought, and we are doing everything we can to make sure this process is conducted with respect and compassion.”

The layoffs will impact ESPN as the company tries to figure out what to do with the former sports broadcasting powerhouse, which has been losing its footing as people cancel cable, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Between the first two rounds, the number of layoffs will be approximately 4,000, with another 3,000 remaining to be done in the final phase by the beginning of summer, CNN reported.

Despite the number of layoffs and the latest directly impacting the resorts, the company pledged that it would not impact frontline theme park employees, Deadline reported.

As of last October, Disney employed about 220,000 people globally with 166,000 in the U.S., CNN reported.