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Disney to cut 28,000 jobs as pandemic hits theme parks

Disneyland
Disneyland

Disney said it would lay off 28,000 staff in its giant theme parks division, blaming the ongoing Covid-19 crisis that has seen its flagship California park closed for months.

The entertainment giant's announcement came after it was told that its Disneyland Resort near Los Angeles would remain closed for the foreseeable future. Last month, Disney revealed a first loss in two decades.

Tens of thousands of Disney staff have been on furlough for almost six months after the park was closed in March. Although locations in other parts of the world have been able to reopen with limited capacity, Disneyland has remained completely shut with little sign that it will be allowed to reopen soon.

Disney said the virus’s economic impact had been “exacerbated in California by the state’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen”.

Disney’s tourism business, which includes its parks and cruise line, was its highest earner before the pandemic struck, but sales fell by 85pc in the last quarter as some locations were shut and others opened only tentatively.

Disney said around two thirds of the laid off workers were part-time employees.