In the face of an unprecedented profitability crisis and the repeated failure of its woke content, Walt Disney Co. executives seem to have settled on a solution: double down on the woke and fire rank-and-file employees.
Disney executives expect to spend around $30 billion on consumer content in 2023 — virtually the same as in 2022 — while moving full-steam ahead with layoffs that will see the elimination of 7,000 jobs. Pink slips are reportedly set to drop soon, sending employee morale plummeting.
The layoffs come as Disney faces daunting challenges in the wake of a disastrous 2022 that saw the company’s stock plunge 44 percent and profitability take a surprising hit, resulting in the firing of CEO Bob Chapek and the return of Bob Iger.
In an earnings call last month, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said the company still expects its content spending to remain “in the low $30 billion range” for fiscal 2023, even as it plans to find $3 billion in annual content savings.
Disney spent an estimated $33 billion on content in 2022, yielding such box-office disasters as Lightyear and Strange World, as well as the woke Disney+ series Willow, which was canceled after one season. Much of Disney’s new streaming content remains unpopular with consumers, with no new Marvel or Star Wars series cracking the top 15 most-viewed streaming programs.
Disney’s streaming arms race with Netflix has resulted in a glut of content, leaving less money in the pot for employees who as always will have to bear the brunt of poor executive decision making.
Disney has fully embraced wokeness in its movies and streaming content. Many of its shows for children put transgender and gender non-conforming characters in the spotlight, while series like the Disney+ animated show The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder claim America was founded on “white supremacy” and “still has not atoned” for its racism.
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