The OC Register reports that Disney has confirmed a new round of layoffs that will include 11,500 Disneyland and Disney California Adventure employees. This latest figure includes 8,724 layoffs of Disneyland union employees, which will take effect on December 31, and 2,848 Disneyland non-union employees, which were previously announced in September. No information about what positions or departments will be affected have been made available.
This is likely a part of the initial 28,000 employees that were announced earlier this year as being laid off at Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, as we know that Walt Disney World has already laid off 18,000 Cast Members.
This unfortunately does not include the 4,000 additional layoffs that were announced last week right before Thanksgiving and are due to take effect early next year. Disney has not released any official statements about these latest rounds of layoffs.
Though Disneyland park remains closed, part of the Buena Vista Street area of Disney California Adventure is now open with select shopping and dining experiences available for guests. With current California restrictions in place, it will likely be well into 2021 when COVID-19 vaccines are readily available until these theme parks can fully reopen.
Disney recently released that the impact of COVID-19 for the most recent financial quarter has been an estimated loss of $3.1 billion in total, with $2.4 billion of that coming from slowdowns in the Parks, Experiences and Products segment, which saw a 61% reduction in revenue year over year to $2.58 billion. For the theme parks specifically, the operating loss during the quarter is $1.1 billion, largely due to the ongoing Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line closure.
