Employers & Industry
Disney is planning another restructuring of its television business that could consolidate divisions and result in hundreds of job cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported October 1, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters relayed the report.
The plan is being led by Disney Entertainment Television Chairman Debra O’Connell and may not be finalized before the end of the year, according to the Journal’s report.
Disney did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
That limitation matters. The restructuring is reported, not yet a completed company action, and the eventual number of affected employees may change.
The overhaul is expected to affect executives running units including ABC Entertainment, 20th Television, Hulu Originals and Freeform, according to the report.
The underlying business is changing
The proposed restructuring comes as traditional television companies continue adapting to the decline of cable and broadcast economics.
Cord-cutting has reduced the value of legacy television distribution while streaming has changed how audiences consume entertainment and how media companies organize programming.
The workforce effect has been repeated restructuring.
Disney has already cut jobs this year in marketing, Pixar, ABC News and ESPN, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, September 29, a source told Reuters the company was laying off a few hundred more employees, mainly in human resources and technology.
The reported television plan would represent another stage in that process rather than an isolated workforce event.
Organization follows distribution
The reported objective is to organize Disney’s television operations more closely around streaming audiences instead of divisions built around legacy linear-TV brands.
That distinction is important for workers.
Industry disruption does not affect every occupation equally. A media company can reduce positions tied to one operating model while continuing to invest in other functions, platforms and skills.
The same principle applies beyond entertainment: changes in distribution technology can alter organizational structure long before an entire industry disappears.
For Disney employees, however, the immediate question remains concrete — which units and roles will ultimately be affected.
Until the company finalizes or confirms the plan, estimates should remain labeled as reported expectations rather than completed layoffs.
Sources
- Reuters, “Disney plans restructuring of television business, WSJ reports,” October 1, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/disney-plans-restructuring-television-business-wsj-reports-2026-10-01/
- The Wall Street Journal, report on Disney’s planned television restructuring, October 1, 2026 (as relayed by Reuters). https://www.wsj.com/business/media/disney-planning-tv-restructuring-as-streamlining-continues-2454ac0a
- Reuters, “Disney laying off a few hundred employees, source says,” September 29, 2026, via BNN Bloomberg. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2026/09/29/disney-laying-off-a-few-hundred-employees-source-says/
Featured photo: The entrance gate to the Walt Disney Studios lot on South Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California, where Disney has its headquarters. Photo: Junkyardsparkle, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). Cropped from the original.
