Walt Disney is preparing to cut as many as 1,000 positions in the coming weeks, with most of the reductions expected to come from its marketing ranks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The proposed reductions — code‑named "Project Imagine" internally — are part of a planned consolidation of Disney’s marketing operations, the Journal said.
If implemented, the cuts would affect under 1% of Disney’s roughly 231,000 employees at the end of fiscal 2025, according to company headcount figures cited in the report. The Journal said the initiative predates Josh D’Amaro’s appointment as chief executive officer in March, and is tied to a broader effort led by Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, Asad Ayaz, who began overseeing a companywide marketing organisation in January.
Ayaz’s mandate, the report said, is to unite what had been several separate marketing teams across Disney’s businesses — including parks, studios and streaming — into a single, centralized group designed to reduce costs and streamline campaigns. Project Imagine is expected to identify overlapping roles and redundant functions as the company seeks to trim expenses across its advertising and promotional operations.
Reuters, citing the Journal, said the planned job cuts were reported by people with knowledge of the matter; the news agency added it could not immediately verify the report and that Disney did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. The company has previously undertaken targeted restructurings as it pursues efficiency across a sprawling portfolio of media, theme parks and consumer products.
Analysts and industry observers have noted a broader trend of large companies reorganizing marketing teams and headcounts to respond to changing media consumption and the need for more flexible, capability‑based structures. This week’s report follows other high‑profile workforce reductions in the technology and corporate sectors, underscoring ongoing cost‑management pressures even among major brand leaders.
While the projected layoffs represent a small fraction of Disney’s total workforce, they could mark a significant shift in how the company coordinates marketing across its multiple businesses. The Journal’s reporting suggests the reorganization is intended to centralize strategy and eliminate duplication, a move that could accelerate changes to how Disney plans and buys advertising and how it positions content and consumer experiences going forward.
The company is expected to announce details of Project Imagine and any associated job actions in the coming weeks, according to the Journal report. Observers will be watching for official confirmation from Disney and for indications of how the consolidated marketing structure will operate across the corporation’s diverse divisions.