The Walt Disney Co. went woke and now it is paying the consequences, with employees bracing for a bloodbath.
Executives are expecting CEO Bob Iger to announce drastic cost cuts — including layoffs that could number in the thousands — when the company reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, according to a Business Insider report. The cuts come amid Iger’s ongoing corporate restructuring following a disastrous 2022 that saw company profits tank and its stock plummet 44 percent.
Disney is also facing a nasty proxy fight from pro-Trump billionaire Nelson Peltz, whose Trian Fund Management owns more than 9 million shares of the company. Peltz is angling for a seat on the Disney board, looking to replace Michael Froman, a veteran of the Clinton and Obama administrations.
Peltz is unhappy with the way the company is currently being run, including the decision to pick a fight with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over the state’s anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, according to a Variety report.
As a result of the fight, Walt Disney World has lost its self-governing status in the Orlando area, a privilege it has held for five decades.
Like the rest of Hollywood, Disney is feeling the effects of a cratering advertising market, with companies pulling back on ad buys as consumers cut their spending in the face of skyrocketing inflation and the prospect of a prolonged recession.
Layoffs have hit Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Netflix.
Disney was expected to enact layoffs under former CEO Bob Chapek. But Chapek was abruptly fired in November following the company’s catastrophic earnings report.
Disney’s financial woes come as the company increasingly embraces transgenderism, critical race theory, and other forms of woke politics in its entertainment aimed at children. As Breitbart News reported, the Disney+ streaming channel series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is pushing reparations for slavery, claiming in its latest episode that America was founded on “white supremacy” and “still has not atoned” for its racism.
Disney+ recently featured a transgender “man” who menstruates in its animated Baymax series for kids. The streamer has also cast a drag queen and a “trans-masculine” actress in the upcoming Marvel superhero series Ironheart.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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