Disney internal memo hints at upcoming layoffs as legal chief talks about 'hard choices'; job cuts may start next week

An internal memo at Disney has raised concerns among employees about possible layoffs in the company’s legal and global affairs department.

According to a Deadline report, Disney Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer Horacio Gutierrez sent the memo to employees on September 18, warning about a major transformation within the department without explicitly saying that AI would lead to job losses.

However, the memo refers to “hard choices,” a “transformation process” and plans to “automate certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies,” prompting speculation about potential layoffs.


According to Deadline, the memo was sent around noon on September 18 to about 1,000 members of Disney’s LGA department. The report said some LGA employees are bracing for rounds of layoffs that could begin as early as next week.

The report also noted that unspecified cuts within the LGA department are separate from the next round of expected layoffs.

What Disney's internal memo says

Gutierrez said LGA will become a much smaller organisation than it is today and that some of its workflows will need to be automated.

The memo said: “Obviously, this will require hard choices about where and how we deploy our resources and investments, including our staffing investments and how we work will look different in the months and years ahead... LGA will be a much smaller organization than it is today, and some of you will personally be affected by decisions we make in this process.”

Gutierrez also outlined several possible changes, including “automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies, moving to self-service models where appropriate, engaging alternative legal providers and others, and new expanded share services, even outsourcing.”

Citing Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, Gutierrez added: “When teams work smarter, Disney can serve more fans at lower costs, freeing up capital to reinvest in the content, guest experiences, and technology infrastructure that keep the company out in front.”

He said D’Amaro’s vision was for Disney to adapt to a changing market by “breaking internal walls and embracing technology to amplify what makes it great, not by clinging to the way things always have been done.”

The memo came on the same day Disney announced Karandeep Anand as the company’s first chief technology officer, Deadline reported.

Meanwhile, several longtime Disney executives were offered the company’s voluntary early retirement package in August.