Disney laid off employees from its struggling TV division

The layoffs come a week ahead of the media giant's third-quarter earnings report

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Disney reports its third-quarter earning on August 7.
Disney reports its third-quarter earning on August 7.
Image: Jeremy Moeller / Contributor (Getty Images)
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Disney’s television division was just hit with layoffs. Disney Entertainment Television cut about 140 job on Wednesday, about 2% of the division’s total workforce, Deadline reported.

National Geographic was hit the hardest with about 13% of its staff, or 60 employees, affected. The layoffs also impacted the following units: ABC-owned television stations, the cable channel Freeform, Disney’s linear networks, unscripted, marketing, and publicity.

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The job cuts are part of a larger a cost-saving initiative at Disney, with the company on track to save $7.5 billion since last year. Earlier this year, Pixar Animation Studios cut 175 positions, or about 14% of its staff. The news also comes just a week before the media giant is set to report its third-quarter earnings.

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Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Quartz.

The company joins Fox Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery, both of which cut jobs this summer, in the media industry’s downsizing push. Media companies are struggling with how to handle streaming overtaking cable and network television. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is reportedly considering splitting its streaming and studio assets from its cable network business.

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Despite operating one of the few profitable streaming platforms, Warner Bros. Discovery has been dragged down by its struggling linear TV assets. The company’s stock has plummeted 70% since the merger that created it in 2022.

Last week, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery launched a new bundle that combines all of their streaming platforms — Disney+, Hulu, and Max — under one monthly subscription plan starting at $16.99 a month. Disney is also reportedly working on giving its streaming platform a facelift that’ll make it look like a mashup of regular TV and Netflix to boost viewership.