Disney to cut 28,000 jobs as coronavirus slams its theme park business

Walt Disney said on Tuesday it will lay off roughly 28,000 employees, mostly at its US theme parks, where attendance has been crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in California where Disneyland remains closed.

 

About two-thirds of the laid-off staffers will be part-time workers, the firm said in a statement.

 

Disney shut its theme parks worldwide when the novel coronavirus began spreading this year. All but Disneyland — nicknamed the Happiest Place on Earth - reopened, though the company was forced to limit the number of visitors to allow for physical distancing.

 

“We have made the difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels,” Josh D'Amaro, chairman of the parks unit, said in a statement. He cited the parks’ limited capacity and uncertainty about the virus’ duration, which he said was “exacerbated in California by the state's unwillingness to lift curbs that would allow Disneyland to reopen.” In a letter to employees, D'Amaro called the move “heartbreaking.”

 

Shell to slash up to 9,000 jobs

 

Royal Dutch Shell will cut as many as 9,000 jobs as crude’s crash forces billions of dollars in cost savings and the oil and gas giant overhauls its business to embrace clean energy. The move reflects the challenge facing Big Oil as the virus persists, with some in the industry believing the era of demand growth is already over. As the crisis hastens the shift to low-carbon energy, oil firms are axing jobs, taking multibillion-dollar writedowns and slashing once-sacrosanct dividends.