Disney to axe 7,000 jobs
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2023
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Disney plans to cut 7,000 jobs to reduce costs, the UK competition regulator said Microsoft’s acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard would harm competition for UK gamers, and the seventh-generation leader of a European banking dynasty is taking the family’s company private.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Disney to axe 7,000 jobs in $5.5bn cost-cutting plan
UK regulator deals blow to Microsoft’s $75bn Activision deal
Activision Blizzard chief: UK would lose out if it blocks Microsoft deal
‘You can’t be half pregnant’: Why Rothschild is calling time on the public market
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The FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson and Marc Filippino. The show’s editor is Jess Smith. Additional help by Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The FT News Briefing is supported by Equinole, the UK's energy partner. |
| 0:06.3 | Learn more at equinole.co.uk |
| 0:10.1 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:11.7 | Today is Thursday, February 9th, and this is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:18.7 | Disney is the latest company to announce mass layoffs, |
| 0:22.2 | UK regulators through a wrench and Microsoft's plan to buy a major video game developer, |
| 0:27.3 | and a European banking dynasty is taking its company private. |
| 0:34.5 | Disney reported fourth quarter earnings yesterday, and it was Bob Iger's first earnings call since |
| 0:48.2 | coming back as CEO. Disney's revenue rose 8% year on year at the end of 2022, |
| 0:54.1 | but the company will cut about 7,000 workers as part of cost reduction measures. |
| 0:59.4 | Iger said the job cuts will save Disney around 5.5 billion dollars. |
| 1:04.1 | Disney shares jumped 9% in after hours trading following the announcement. |
| 1:08.8 | The FT's Chris Grimes has more. |
| 1:11.6 | In the previous quarter they lost a billion and a half dollars in the streaming business, |
| 1:17.2 | and that was just too much for investors who had really lost patience |
| 1:24.2 | with these never-ending, escalating bills for streaming content with no path to profitability inside. |
| 1:34.4 | Iger knew when he came back to the company that he had to make a really big move to reassure people |
| 1:41.4 | that he had a plan to get all of this under control. |
| 1:45.3 | Bear in mind, also, that Iger after he got back is now under attack from an activist |
| 1:51.2 | investor named Nelson Peltz, and Peltz has criticized them saying that there's |
| 1:56.2 | the cost or out of control and so forth. |
| 2:00.3 | Yeah, I'm glad you brought up Peltz. |
... |
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