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The Walt Disney Company has defended its latest layoffs, saying the cuts are necessary for its survival.
Disney President Dana Walden made the remarks on Thursday at the Bloomberg Screen Time conference in Los Angeles. She described the job losses as “extremely painful” but said the company must adapt to survive.
“We’ve exited colleagues who I’ve worked with for most of my career, It is in many ways a harsh reality,” Walden said.
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“It is extremely painful,” she added.
According to US media reports, Disney laid off more than 300 employees on Tuesday. Most affected employees worked in human resources and information technology.
The latest cuts came months after Disney eliminated about 1,000 jobs in April. Those layoffs mainly affected the company’s marketing division following the arrival of new Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro.
Disney has faced growing pressure to cut costs in recent years. The company is also dealing with intense competition in the streaming industry. At the same time, advances in artificial intelligence have created cheaper tools for some production and business operations.
Walden said Disney had also offered some executives the option to leave voluntarily through a retirement plan. She said the company must regularly review its structure to remain competitive.
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“There is a need to constantly evaluate how you’re structured,” Walden said.
“Technology set their sights on our business, and we must survive and thrive and grow. And that’s what we’re going to do,” she added.
However, it remains unclear whether the latest layoffs included employees who were offered the voluntary retirement option. The Walt Disney Company had not immediately responded to a request for comment.
