(PM.) On Wednesday, recently re-instated Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the entertainment giant would be laying off 7,000 of its employees and undergo mass restructuring as it attempts to rebound from the last quarter of Fiscal Year 2022.
On the chopping block is Disney‘s Media and Entertainment Distribution team, a holdover from the era of Iger’s predecessor Bob Chapek. The technology and product team, which oversaw the release of content on Disney+, is set to be dismantled entirely in favor of a replacement that puts creators back in the driver’s seat.
According to IndieWire, Iger revealed during Wednesday’s earnings report that in Q1 of FY2023, Disney increased its revenue in the direct-to-consumer sector to $5.3 billion, but still recorded losses of $1.05 billion in that division.
The loss, which still beat analysts’ expectations, was due to the loss of 2.4 million Disney+ subscribers around the world who left the service during the past four months, as well as the 3.8 million subscribers who ditched Disney+ Hotstar in India after it lost the rights to IPL cricket.