Disney’s Furloughing Of Employees Goes Beyond the Theme Parks
Over the past week, we here at MickeyBlog have been giving a lot of attention to the fact that a large number of Disney cast members are being furloughed at both Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida and Disneyland in Anaheim, California. However, according to a recent piece in The Hollywood Reporter, they aren’t the only ones with jobs at stake.
Earlier this month the Walt Disney Company also announced that employees across the media and entertainment departments whose jobs aren’t essential at this time would also be included in the cuts. These employees will also be furloughed as of April 19 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This was in addition to the news that both Bob Iger and Bob Chapek would be taking large paycuts and that execs would have their salaries cut roughly 20-30%.
So what additional jobs are being cut? According to THR, marketing and distribution departments have been largely impacted with releases pushed back until cinemas re-open. It should be noted that Disney has a massive film stable including Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Disney’s own live-action studio, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century and Searchlight.
Workers impacted by the furlough will continue to remain Disney employees during the shutdown. They will continue to receive full healthcare benefits plus the cost of employee and company premiums. Those enrolled in Disney Aspire will also have continued access to education programs.
Finally, employees with available paid time off also have the option of using this during the start of the furloughed. Once unemployed they also have the ability to receive an extra $600 per week in federal compensation through the government’s recently passed stimulus bill in combination with unemployment insurance.
In a statement from April 2nd, the Walt Disney Company said:
“The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on our world with untold suffering and loss, and has required all of us to make sacrifices. Over the last few weeks, mandatory decrees from government officials have shut down a majority of our businesses. Disney employees have received full pay and benefits during this time, and we’ve committed to paying them through April 18, for a total of five additional weeks of compensation,”
Bob Iger has given up his full salary as a result of the COVID-19 cuts and incoming CEO Bob Chapek has given up 50%. In addition, VP’s including those employed by the film studios are seeing a 20% reduction in their salaries. Senior Vice Presidents a 25% paycut and Executive Vice President’s a cut of 30%. Those final salary cuts also apply to Walt Disney Studios co-chairman Alan Horn and Alan Bergman (both pictured above.)
Unions are still busy working with Disney on terms and conditions to the furlough before the April 19th start date! We’ll be watching this news closely so keep following along with MickeyBlog and we promise to keep you posted!
Source: The HollywoodReporter