Disney to cut 7,000 jobs in cost-saving plan

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. entertainment giant the Walt Disney Company has announced 7,000 job layoffs from its global workforce.

The job cuts represent around 3.2 percent of Disney's 220,000 employees worldwide.

In this Friday, April 30, 2021, file photo, visitors exit The Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo: AP)

The company is targeting 5.5 billion U.S. dollars in cost savings, including 3 billion dollars in content savings, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said Wednesday in his first earnings call since returning to the company.

Iger noted that the reorganization would result in a more cost-effective, coordinated and streamlined approach to the company's operations.

The Mouse House is the latest on the list of major U.S. companies that have announced mass job cuts in recent months.

Disney on Wednesday reported revenue of 23.51 billion dollars for its first quarter of fiscal 2023, up 8 percent year over year.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the quarter increased to 0.7 dollars from 0.63 dollars in the prior-year quarter. Excluding certain items, diluted EPS for the quarter decreased to 0.99 dollars from 1.06 dollars in the prior-year quarter.

Disney reported 161.8 million Disney+ paid subscribers worldwide, a decrease of 2.4 million subscribers during the first quarter. It's Disney+'s first subscriber loss since the launching of the company's flagship streaming service in 2019.