Disney to cut its workforce by 28 thousand jobs in the United States.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) expressed plans of cutting its workforce by 28 thousand jobs on Tuesday. The layoff, it added, will primarily affect theme parks in the United States where COVID-19 continues to weigh on visitor numbers. Disneyland California is still closed for the public.

The Walt Disney Company published its earnings report in August that highlighted £3.61 billion of net GAAP loss in the fiscal third quarter. Its revenue in Q3 came in weaker than what the experts had forecast due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

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In separate news, Britain’s Morrisons created over 1,000 jobs to pick and pack orders for its services on Amazon.

Chairman Josh D’Amaro’s comments on Tuesday

Disney also highlighted in its statement that nearly 65% of these positions will be part-time. Disney was pushed into temporarily closing its worldwide theme parks in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than 7.4 million people in the United States and caused over 210 thousand deaths.

Chairman Josh D’Amaro of the parks unit commented late on Tuesday and said:

“We have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels.”

D’Amaro also highlighted that Disney prioritised suspending projects, slashing expenses, and streamlining operations in recent months to avoid layoffs. The entertainment conglomerate kept its furloughed employees eligible for health benefits since April.

“However, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.”

Disney’s performance in the stock market

Before the pandemic, Walt Disney World (Florida) had a headcount of 77 thousand, including both part-time and full-time workers. In California, Disneyland employed 32 thousand people. The company did not disclose the number of workers it employs in other U.S. parks unit, including cruise lines and consumer products.

Disney dropped more than 1% in extended trading on Tuesday. Including the price, it is now trading at £96.43 per share versus £67 per share in March when the health crisis disrupted its operations. Interested in investing in the stock market online? Here’s a simple guide to get you started.

In comparison, Disney performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of more than 35%. At the time of writing, the American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate is valued at £176.59 billion.