Disney Marketing Chief Asad Ayez Says Layoffs In The Works For Months Making Them Under Iger

Disney has been laying off 1,000 employees this past week, impacting many departments, including Marvel and Disney’s physical media branch.  Now, Disney’s Chief Marketing and Brand executive, Asad Ayez, has sent out a memo about the situation.

One important part stands out. These layoffs were planned for months, which means they were likely initiated under Bob Iger and not Josh D’Amaro.

It’s been reported that the cuts impacted marketing heavily, but we are seeing reports from sectors not directly related.

Ayez said,

“Over the past few months, the marketing leadership team and I have been working together to design a thoughtful go-forward structure for our unified marketing organization that will unlock innovation, reduce complexity, and build critical capabilities.”

“The past few months” confirm reports that this goes back at least until January. At that point, the company was under Bob Iger, and no CEO successor had been named yet.  Iger then left earlier than expected, leaving Josh D’Amaro with the job of following through and taking the blame.

The job shuffle likely impacts more than 1,000 jobs, as some employees were moved into other positions to eliminate even more.

“As part of this work, we found overlap in some roles and functions and identified new skills we need going forward. This means that some team members have also been offered new roles or responsibilities to ensure we have the necessary capabilities to take us into the future.”

The more statements come out, the more it feels like these choices are being made for AI.

Terms like “new skills,” “reduce complexity,” “build critical capabilities”, and “unlock innovation” sound like other companies that got rid of people to add AI.

The issue is that AI is not at a place where it can successfully replace humans. While D’Amaro is quick to say that AI will not replace people in animation or Imagineering, the company has a job opening for an AI designer for those exact departments.

AI has recently proven problematic and even caused issues with Amazon’s services last December, impacting numerous businesses and customers. Now Disney is laying off employees for a “market organization that will unlock innovation“.

Here is the full memo,

“Team,

By now, you are aware that organizational changes have been taking place across several areas of the company, including marketing. It has been a hard week, and I know news like this can be very difficult. That is why I want to take this opportunity to be transparent about what is changing in marketing and why.

Over the past few months, the marketing leadership team and I have been working together to design a thoughtful go-forward structure for our unified marketing organization that will unlock innovation, reduce complexity, and build critical capabilities. We carefully considered how the global marketing function is evolving to meet the disruption happening across all industries so we could design an org that is nimble and modern fueling world-class creativity and serving consumers and fans in an even more connected and seamless way.

While we have made a great deal of progress, especially with an effort of this scale, there has also been a reduction in certain roles across some of our teams. This difficult news has now been communicated to all employees who have been impacted this week.

As part of this work, we found overlap in some roles and functions and identified new skills we need going forward. This means that some team members have also been offered new roles or responsibilities to ensure we have the necessary capabilities to take us into the future.

I am mindful of the real, personal impact changes like these can have. We are working closely with our HR partners to ensure that those impacted this week are being supported through this process, and I appreciate everyone’s patience and sensitivity as we support our friends and trusted colleagues through this time.

Please know that I am incredibly proud of the exceptional work this team does every day and today’s changes take nothing away from the accomplishments of everyone who has been part of our marketing team.

I remain confident in the strength of our team and what comes next. Thank you for your continued work, your professionalism, and your compassion for one another as we navigate this transformative time together. Please reach out to me, your leader, or your HR partner if you need anything.

Asad”

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