Josh D’Amaro Continues Rough First Month as New Disney CEO with Rumored Layoffs
After a first month on the job that could fairly be described as “Chapekian,” it seems that the honeymoon is over for new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro. Here’s a rundown of the challenges, plus the latest report of rumored layoffs on the horizon.
In case you missed it, Mr. D’Amaro’s Wild Ride as CEO of the Walt Disney Company officially started as of March 18, 2026. D’Amaro became CEO as of the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, at which point, Bob Iger transitioned to a new advisory role until his retirement from the company on December 31, 2026. That was only three weeks ago, but it probably feels like an eternity for D’Amaro.
His first day was fairly uneventful and went surprisingly smoothly. He handled the Q&A during the meeting with ease, even the more contentious subjects (see CEO Josh D’Amaro on Disney Parks High Prices vs. Guest Satisfaction, DAS Changes, Lightning Lane Rules). A couple of days later, there was some controversy/cancellation with the Bachelorette that I don’t fully understand. Seven days later, things started to get really rough.
First came trouble in paradise with the Epic Games partnership. That studio announced the layoffs of over 1,000 employees, aimed at putting Epic Games in a “more stable place,” according to a memo sent to employees by CEO Tim Sweeney.
The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means the company is spending significantly more than it’s making, and has to make major cuts to keep the company funded. This layoff, together with over $500 million of identified cost savings in contracting, marketing, and closing open roles is the means to that goal.
The Epic Games layoffs comes amidst industry-wide challenges that include slower growth, weaker spending, and tougher cost economics; current consoles are selling less than last generation’s, development costs and timelines have exploded, there’s been a slowdown coming out of COVID, and games are competing for time against other increasingly-engaging forms of entertainment.
The Epic Games partnership was one of D’Amaro’s marquee initiatives while head of Disney Experiences. The drop in Fortnite engagement strikes me as a potential red flag, and I’m concerned that the Fortnite fad is coming to an end, or at least post-peak. Live service games strike me as something that cannot be sustained indefinitely as its core audience ages out of the product or the next hot new thing comes along.
At the same time, Disney needs success in the gaming realm to capture the time and mindshare of younger generations. This is seemingly why Disney made the deal in the first place, and why it’s been such a big initiative for D’Amaro. I’m not sure what the solution is, but fear it might be trying to acquire Epic Games.
Either way, this one struck me as a big blow for Disney and D’Amaro. (It’s also one that’s outside the interest of our audience, as evidenced by the meager 4 comments on our original post about the Epic Games layoffs and cost-cutting.)
Later that same day came the announcement that OpenAI was “saying goodbye” to Sora.
The announcement came just three months after Disney made a supposedly groundbreaking deal with OpenAI. Under the three-year licensing agreement, Sora would have been able to generate user-prompted videos from a set of more than 200 masked, animated or creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars.
Sora and ChatGPT Images were to generate “fan-inspired” videos with Disney’s licensed characters in early 2026, with Disney+ to add a curated selections of Sora-generated videos later in 2026. According to the companies, the agreement brought these “leaders in creativity and innovation together to unlock new possibilities in imaginative storytelling.”
Disney has now ended its partnership with OpenAI, which included plans for the media conglomerate to take a $1 billion stake in the AI company led by CEO Sam Altman. That deal never closed and Disney never paid the $1 billion. This means that the billion dollars is now unaccounted for, and could be spent on something of value instead of metaphorically lit on fire.
Just one day before that announcement, Disney and OpenAI teams were working together on a project linked to Sora, OpenAI’s AI video tool, according to reporting by Reuters. Disney was blindsided with word that OpenAI was dropping the tool altogether, and “it was a big rug-pull,” according to the Reuters source.
Unlike the Epic Games deal, this one actually struck me as a stealth win for Josh D’Amaro. It wasn’t a great news day for Burbank, but it was probably a net positive in the long term. The original OpenAI announcement felt very Iger-esque, and seemed like an impulsive agreement made to try to have some say in the wild west of the AI landscape. (And also for a stock boost that did not happen.)
I don’t doubt that Disney will involve itself in AI somehow, and it wouldn’t surprise me if whatever they land on ends up being another misguided idea. But the Sora arrangement seemed haphazard and laden with landmines; Disney can do better, even at making lemonade out of lemons. The optics of two deals souring on the same day weren’t great for D’Amaro, but this was nevertheless a blessing in disguise.
All of this has been occurring against the backdrop of the Iran war, which obviously was not a D’Amaro decision but could nevertheless have huge negative ramifications for Disney’s core business. Perhaps more so than anything else discussed here depending upon how long it drags on.
The first is the more direct and immediate impact, which is a potential slowdown in summer travel caused by $4 per gallon gas. We’ve covered this on several occasions, albeit not through the lens of D’Amaro’s start as CEO, so I’m not going to fixate on it. (See Why the Iran War Could Cut Crowds at Disney World & Negatively Impact Your 2026 Travel Plans.)
Parks & Resorts has been the biggest bright spot for Disney in the last several years, and what landed D’Amaro in the CEO seat. The conflict and gas prices are obviously outside of his control, but shareholders will take little solace in that if/when there’s an impact on bookings and per guest spending at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
There’s also the wildcard of Disneyland Abu Dhabi, which was a big talking point when D’Amaro was first announced as CEO. It is perhaps noteworthy that the project was not mentioned by name during the shareholding meeting, but instead referenced indirectly as a park in a “new corner of the world.”
At this point, there have been signs that it’s full steam ahead of Disneyland Abu Dhabi, but I would strongly emphasize the “at this point” portion of that sentence. The Middle East has more announced-but-unbuilt theme parks than it does operational ones.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi is a licensing deal with no financial exposure for Disney and its regional partner, Miral, clearly wants to proceed with the project (at this point), which are both positives. However, this park is not without risk for the Walt Disney Company. If regional instability persists (or resumes at a later date), there is no more distinctly “American” target than a Disney theme park, and Iran has demonstrated no reluctance to strike allies in the region.
I’m glad I’m not the one who has to decide whether the financial reward and brand expansion are worth that risk. It’ll be a tough decision for D’Amaro to make, and one that is far from a “done deal” no matter what media reports currently suggest. No one knows what the geopolitical landscape will look like in this corner of the world in 2035 or so when Disneyland Abu Dhabi would likely debut.
The latest development that’s sparking backlash on social media is a report by the Wall Street Journal that Disney will laying off up to 1,000 people in the coming weeks. The report indicates that the layoffs will be in the consolidated marketing department, and largely (if not exclusively) impact the streaming and studio side.
As WSJ points out, layoffs have become a brutal reality across the entertainment industry. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have already cut staff. More layoffs are expected if and when Paramount acquires Warners.
Disney and these other studios have been adjusting to the ‘new normal’ of smaller profits from streaming as contrasted with linear television, as well as diminished box office, and intense competition from tech companies. Disney is also combining the staff of its Disney+ and Hulu as it merges the streaming services into one app, and redundancies will result from that.
On top of that, Disney wants to free up money to invest in businesses where it sees growth potential. The company has laid off more than 8,000 people since Bob Iger returned as CEO in 2022 and began a major restructuring. Plans for the coming layoffs began before D’Amaro took the helm as CEO, according to WSJ sources.
Disney employed 231,000 people at the end of its 2025 fiscal year, some 80% working in the Experiences division, which includes the labor-heavy theme parks and cruise line (plus consumer products). Most layoffs since 2022 have occurred in Disney’s entertainment, ESPN and corporate side.
At the same time, Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line have all seen their headcounts increase since 2022. Based on digging back into the DTB Archives, we find no evidence of any frontline Cast Member layoffs since 2022–only growth. The big round of 7,000 layoffs under Iger concerned mostly the metaverse, streaming and studios. Disney specifically stated at the time that it would not impact frontline Cast Members at the parks.
Disney has been consolidating operations to cut costs and coordinate its efforts across divisions. Earlier this year, the company combined marketing departments for entertainment, experiences and sports under new Chief Marketing Officer, Asad Ayaz.
Ayaz’s plan to unite the marketing group and reduce expenses is code-named Project Imagine, according to WSJ. Disney has been working with consultants from Bain & Co. to strategize its cost-cutting.
Beyond his plan for united the company as “One Disney,” D’Amaro hasn’t laid out specifics for reshaping the company since taking over last month. Those close to the company said one of his priorities is having different divisions collaborate more quickly and efficiently, according to WSJ. Unsurprisingly, employees have feared layoffs would be part of that equation.
In terms of commentary, it’s worth underscoring which divisions these layoffs are impacting and the financial realities of said businesses. More so, it’s important to note that, to the extent this is relevant to Parks & Resorts, it’s not a story about layoffs, but rather, freeing up resources from struggling segments to increase spending in successful ones.
I’d also add that we routinely refer to Disney as a ‘bloated bureaucracy’ incapable of doing anything quickly. I’d stop short of expressing a positive opinion of “One Disney” since we know almost nothing about it at this point, and several past strategic initiatives have been half-baked or bad. I like the idea of the company being more nimble, interconnected, and operating with less internal friction. The devil is in the details, though, so it’ll come down to execution.
The worst part of this is the unforced error of giving a code-name to a project that’ll involve layoffs. I understand that the code-name refers to the unification initiative, but c’mon, it also entails layoffs. It doesn’t take a genius to foresee that media reports are going to draw a connection between the code-name and the layoffs. Never give a code-name, especially a positive and cutesy one, to anything involving layoffs. It just seems callous and cruel.
None of this is a great look for D’Amaro so early on in his tenure. No matter what the nuanced reality or the fact that layoffs are part of business, especially a contracting one, this is the latest in a continuation of what’s already been a rough first month for D’Amaro.
As someone who watched the slow motion Chapek crash from the front row, D’Amaro should be cognizant of just how much optics matter. If these layoffs were planned under Iger, I’m honestly shocked they weren’t also announced under him to spare the new CEO from the fallout.
Failing that, I’m surprised D’Amaro didn’t wait a bit longer to make these cuts, especially since I’d assume more are probably on the way once the whole “One Disney” initiative launches in earnest.
While I don’t believe every challenge above has been an actual negative (at minimum, the Sora deal falling through is a blessing in disguise), perceptions are paramount–and it’s been a rough (less than) first month for Josh D’Amaro. Not quite Chapekian, but that was also during COVID, so the business environment was different.
After he was named CEO, we published 11 Great Changes Josh D’Amaro Could Make at Walt Disney World for Big Wins. It’s not too late to implement a couple of those suggestions, and score wins with theme park fans. It won’t undo the negative PR from all of the above, but it would nevertheless be welcome news.
If D’Amaro wants to directly counter the layoffs news, Disney could announce that they’re reinvesting in live entertainment at the parks. There are still several stage shows, atmospheric acts, performers, parades and spectaculars at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland that are missing as compared to 2019. And all while business is booming and the parks are reporting record results. I’m not holding my breath on that ever changing, unfortunately.
As someone who pretty much only cares about the theme parks, I am a staunch advocate of the company investing more money in Walt Disney World and Disneyland, and less in almost everything else. This has been one of our big complaints over the years–that Walt Disney World is treated as the cash cow that finances the company’s forays and follies into other endeavors, and is milked when said projects operate at a loss.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Josh D’Amaro’s first three weeks as Disney CEO? Is the honeymoon over, or is at least some of this negative news actually positives in disguise? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Another note: given the historic and ingoing instability that characterizes the Middle East, I would think that it is an area that Disney would be wise to avoid, despite all of the oil money sloshing around in that part of the world.
Just a couple of points:
(1) Walt Disney was very much a technical innovator when it came to media technology and that trait served him well.
(2) It is always necessary for a business to function efficiently, but as a company that has a very public face and depends on a positive image, Disney needs to be cognizant of how it frames its actions.
(3) We are all here because of our passion for the parks, but it is essential to keep in mind that the creative content produced by the studio side of the business plays a key role in the success of the parks. In this regard, creative minds have always been the bedrock of Disney’s success and I think the Pixar operation, in particular, has suffered from the loss of much of the creative talent that built its massive early success. I’ll agree with others here who have opined that fewer sequels and more fresh ideas are needed. The studio side feels somewhat stale.
Get rid of ESPN. Focus on the parks. That’s what I want.
reminds me of cooking and baking, all these chefs and bakers are trying re imagine recipes that were tried and true. Bring back some originals like Mr. Toads Wild Ride, my husband says, keep to the KISS system.
I do not see how any of this is his fault. This would have happened if Iger was still here.
Iger wouldn’t have left early if things were going well. You don’t have to trust Chapek either, just ask Tom Staggs!
Agreed that most of these are just bad timing and bad luck, … except the good luck that the stock market is treating as bad luck, because that’s how the “tech” “market” “works.”
This is just for the record since some have asked what Disney movies flopped.
Not all Disney films are flops but there have been enough to hurt the studio financially and worse, their reputation.
“Several Disney films have significantly underperformed at the box office in recent years (2020–2025), with high-profile flops including Strange World (2022), Lightyear (2022), and The Marvels (2023). Other notable financial disappointments include Haunted Mansion (2023), Wish (2023), and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), with some estimates suggesting losses in the $100–$200 million range per film. ”
I’m now strictly a Disney Parks guy but I was a Disney Parks and film/tv guy.
I’m sure everyone reading this is well aware that Walt didn’t believe in doing sequels. He produced ZERO animated feature film sequels. He wasn’t even crazy about re-releasing them.
In his lifetime he ok’d three live action sequels. Son of Flubber (1963), The Monkey’s Uncle (1965), and Savage Sam (1963), alongside two shorts,The Big Bad Wolf (1934) and The Three little Wolves (1936).
This sequel mania taking place may be profitable at times but for the most part it’s diminished Walt’s legacy. Especially notable are these live action reproductions of successful animated films that are rarely decent and mostly embarrassing.
Why the lack of fresh source material?
All one needs to do is walk into the children’s section of the library. Remember those? Buildings filled from floor to ceiling with books?
You couldn’t read all those books in several lifetimes.
Kudos to your comments-especially the live action remakes of great animated films. Just no imagination. Get a library card!
Other than cringe code name business strategies, I don’t really know much of this can be seen as really that bad. I’m no expert, but from the little I do know Chopak’s idea to increase value was to tout rising spending in the parks as well as bet heavy on streaming being a money printing enterprise (much like every other service back then). This now seems to me to be much more measured. Disney isn’t an AI company, or even a gaming company. It’s a studio/theme parks company and I think whether or not the Josh era is a success depends on whether they can create good films. This will be difficult because much of their current IP is exhausted (MCU, Star Wars) or headed towards exhaustion (sequels and live action remakes of sequels). But if they can then I am very hopeful. Success in the studios gives them ideas and revenue they can use to keep improving the parks.
I’ve been watching the Fornite nonsense with a mild sense of vicious glee since the very beginning, way back more than half a decade ago when Bob and Josh had lunch with Matthew Ball, who was big on Twitter back then and was always going on about how there was going to be a whole metaverse inside Fortnite. Seemed like that lunch had a big impression on the dopey Disney boys.
Burned a thousand times; derezzed by a thousand cuts; we few Disney gamers know it in our hearts: feign trying though they might, this company just doesn’t really understand, or believe in, video games. They never have. From the movie-adaptation GBA shovelware I grew up on, to the crushing disappointments of Disney Infinity, to the ‘we give up, let’s just license out to EA and Gameloft’ present day, I’ve come to learn it well.
Bob Iger himself once said it clearly: “we’ve just never managed to demonstrate much skill on the publishing side of games”?
Buying into Epic Games and Fortnite was always just a new demonstration of that lack of skill. It was all about appearances; seeming hip, seeming with it. After a few years of flagging, Fortnite was experiencing a resurgence with the introduction of late 2023’s zero-build mode, the LEGO thing, the Guitar Hero rip-off, and the racing mini-game. Josh must’ve thought he looked pretty slick recommending the big Epic investment. But he doesn’t understand games; Fortnite was already fading. Zero-build brought back thousands of old players, but the novelty was always going to wear off. And like you say, Tom, there’s always something new coming in the live-service world. Not that any of them know how to make any money. Gaming is all vaporware in the end.
Disney won’t buy Epic Games; if they do, greater fool D’Amaro. Epic Games is really just Fortnite, Fall Guys, the Unreal Engine, and the Epic Games Store. There isn’t enough interesting IP; this isn’t Marvel or even Fox. Disney doesn’t want to own two eventually-doomed live-service games and a Steam competitor. The most interesting thing Epic has is the Unreal Engine, which, in addition to powering countless popular games, they also used to make virtual sets for The Mandalorian. But is this really enough to be worth it to Disney?
My wild, unreasonable, unfeasible take is that Disney should get out of video games entirely and put all that money into Lorcana. The reason the parks do so well is because they’re real. Investing more and more into virtual experiences is not going to end well for Disney. The always-on, ever-connected world is a brand new thing; a test case for humanity. More and more, people are waking up and realizing they’re sick of the screens. There was a great piece in The Baffler recently, ‘End Games’ by Corey Pein, about the increasingly politically fraught world of video games. Disney doesn’t want to be part of that. Better to just end games, chill out with the tech fanaticism, and move on.
But they won’t. Ping me when the Nvidia-powered BDX droids are available as Fortnite Back Bling.
I also pretty much only care about the theme parks and find this sort of analysis fascinating, so consider this my boost to a hopefully not-so-meager comment count!
While I haven’t seen them myself, I have heard early users of Sora were creating videos featuring Disney characters in compromising positions. Well, of course they did. Anyone who didn’t expect that has never been on the Internet. I agree the failure of Sora is a positive for Disney.
I don’t mean to sound callous, but maybe a massive layoff in marketing departments will also be a positive. It seems marketing teams have become the ultimate in clueless organizations. Multiple, recent Disney film releases have failed and don’t think it’s a coincidence those films had limited marketing or very bad marketing.
I keep hearing about studios having trouble filling seats at theaters. Yet, the recent release of “Project Hail Mary” proves people will go to the theater for something they want to see. No, I’m not buying into the whole “woke” nonsense. Rather, I just don’t think film studios, to include Disney, have much of clue about what people want to see these days. That’s why they keep churning out horror movies. They don’t know what else to do.
What Disney movies have flopped? Disney has been the highest grossing movie studio 9 out of the 10 years. I know people love tot think that Disney is always in decline but the numbers certainly don’t reflect that.
Thank you Patrick for saying just what I have for decades! People will go to the theatre if you give them something to watch! Make it – and they will come…….
I even go to a film once it’s been out for a week or so, so I don’t hit crowds and yet I’ve still been elbow to elbow wearing my face mask on numerous occasions.
Disney used to be the greatest film promotor in the business. No one could hold a candle to them, and the success of their films showed it. I don’t know how well the films do these days but I have noticed the marketing isn’t what it used to be. I don’t know if they rely on the steaming service for most of there promotions, but I don’t put money into streaming so it’s lost on me.
I’ve always felt Disney was stretching itself too thin. They want to have a toe in every puddle. There is something to say about ‘keeping with what you know’-not keeping up with the Jones’s. Parks, films, and toys made off of them made Walt and Roy very successful men. They don’t need a park in every corner of the world. People came to America to meet Mickey. Even a Russian president wanted to go to Disneyland while in America, but security measures couldn’t be taken care of in time. They don’t need to be in the latest electronic fad time and time again.
It’s proven time and time again that if you keep you prices down, more people will spend and you’ll make more money in the long run. It’s not rocket science.
As for the past month….I feel poor Josh was set up…I’m probably talking out of my ear, but way too much has occurred in just three weeks that will land on his head, and Iger leaves smelling like a rose. Yes we are in am unexpected war which will make it’s own issues, but there is a lot here that has nothing to do with that…Just my two cents…..
“…is at least some of this negative news actually positives in disguise?”
I have no insight to the inner workings of the areas that layoffs might occur but it is possible that these are being done to streamline and make departments more efficient.
This isn’t comforting to those who are released but companies and governments do get bloated and need to reorganize. I’ve seen situations where it was let a few folks go or cancel the whole show.
Never take it personal and see it as where one door closes another opens. It’s never fatal.
Take Tom’s DTB.
He used to have an attractive assistant to add excitement to his photos but lately she’s not been seen. You think D’Amaro has it rough, imagine laying off your wife.
well, the muse left to work for a toddler but when she and her little boss do make it into photos it’s well worth the wait,..
Right you are RO.
But I suspect there’s a surprise ahead with our missing muse.
No surprise ahead, and she’s not missing! We all just spent ~3 weeks together on a family trip to Paris. Then I went almost immediately to WDW on a solo research trip.
Suffice to say, I’m currently digging out from under 10,000+ photos, many of which feature both Sarah and Megatron. Just not the Walt Disney World ones!
Oh noooo, Umbrella D’Amaro has entered the chat! Hopefully there aren’t too many reasons to use that picture going forward.
Dreamlight Valley is a Disney video game that I believe is doing well. it’s been out about 3 years now and has a pretty rabid fan base.
Dreamlight Valley is pure licensed garbage made with seemingly little creative input from Disney. It’s developed by the mobile crapware goons at Gameloft, and it’s really just an also-ran compared to the titans of its genre: Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. It never even made as much of a splash as Pokopia did recently. The reason why is no mystery: though the art style might initially seem attractive, the gameplay is atrocious, and the game (similar to its equally unimpressive Gameloft sibling Disney Speedstorm) is riddled with microtransactions. For better or worse (it’s worse), this actually seems to have been Disney’s game strategy of late; the Fortnite debacle is additionally reflective of their lack of sure footing in the gaming world.
It’s certainly interesting how Iger keeps getting out at the exact right moment!
Do you reckon there will be a third Iger moment ?
I, also do not believe possible for a decision to cut a business and a 1000 jobs to be taken in less than 3 weeks.
It was obviously already in the books.
Maybe there was an arrangement with Josh d’Amaro ? You take the bad buzz and you get the role