Disney is planning another round of layoffs before October

Puck’s Matthew Belloni reports the cuts land at the end of this month and hit H.R., product and technology. Disney declined to comment.

The Walt Disney Company is preparing another round of staff reductions for the end of September, according to reporting from Matthew Belloni in his Puck News column “What I’m Hearing.”

Belloni writes that the cuts are “more limited and focused in H.R., product/tech, and other operations functions,” citing sources. Disney declined to comment.

His reporting also rules something out. The speculation circulating for weeks has been that Disney’s next move would be a large consolidation of its television division. Belloni says this is not that.

How many rounds of Disney layoffs have there been in 2026?

This would be the fourth this year.

In April, Disney laid off roughly 1,000 employees. Those cuts included marketing and branding teams and about 8 percent of Marvel Entertainment’s workforce.

A second round followed in July, affecting hundreds of employees across Pixar, ESPN and Disney Entertainment Television, among other studios.

In August, Variety reported that Disney was offering director-level and higher executives a time-limited early retirement package, which is a quieter way to reduce headcount without a formal layoff announcement.

The September cuts, as reported, are smaller and aimed at support functions rather than creative divisions.

What departments are affected?

Human resources, product and technology, and operations roles, per Belloni’s sources. No specific number has been reported.

Disney has not confirmed the cuts, has not announced them publicly, and declined to comment when asked.

Why do these layoffs keep happening at Disney?

The company has been reducing headcount across multiple years, and the current cuts sit alongside a broader reorganization of its streaming and television leadership.

AI developments are likely partly responsible too.

Earlier this month, Disney named Adam Smith as direct-to-consumer chairman, moved Joe Earley into a television franchise and content strategy role, and hired its first-ever chief technology officer, Karandeep Anand.

Disney has offered no public explanation for the September cuts because it has not publicly acknowledged them.

When would the layoffs happen?

The end of September, which is next week. Disney’s fiscal year ends in late September, and companies frequently move headcount changes before a fiscal year closes.

Employees would typically learn individually rather than through an announcement. In the April and July rounds, news reached the public through trade reporting before the company said anything.

Anyone following this should treat this rumor as unconfirmed until Disney or affected employees say more. Belloni is a well-sourced reporter on this beat and his April and July reporting held up, but the details here come from unnamed sources.

For context on scale, Disney employed roughly 233,000 people worldwide as of its most recent annual filing, the large majority of them in the parks and experiences division, which has not been named for cuts.

Disney’s next earnings call is expected in November, which is when headcount changes from this year would likely show up in reported figures.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

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Hat Tips:

• Matthew Belloni, Puck News “What I’m Hearing” (Sept. 2026), original reporting on the September reductions and the departments affected

• WDW News Today (Sept. 20, 2026), surfacing the Puck report and compiling the 2026 layoff timeline

• Variety (August 2026), the director-level early retirement package

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