Thousands of Disney job cuts may be coming. Investors are asking what comes next.

By Barbara Kollmeyer

CEO of Walt Disney Company Josh D'Amaro pictured June 15, 2026. The company may be ready to lay off thousands of workers.

Reports that Walt Disney is poised to lay off thousands of workers wasn't moving the needle for its languishing stock on Tuesday.

Following small, targeted layoffs across parts of the company this year, sources told Bloomberg on Monday that Disney may be planning bigger personnel cuts across divisions, including TV networks and its studio. Some managers have been asked to come up with 20% in annual savings, with some of that possibly from cuts in expenses.

The report said that CEO Josh D'Amaro plans to reinvest savings into technology, programming for TV and movies and the company's theme parks and cruise businesses. The CEO laid out a similar vision for the long term earlier this year, promising to "enhance technology more aggressively and build a more connected consumer experience with Disney+."

The Hollywood publication Deadline also reported Disney was planning more layoffs.

A spokesperson for Disney didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by MarketWatch.

The company will report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Nov. 17, following surprisingly strong earnings in the prior quarter, thanks to growth in theme-park visitors, "Toy Story 5" success and strong ESPN viewership numbers. Disney also said it was "midstream" through efforts to cut costs, including labor and selling, general and administrative expenses.

Disney's stock (DIS) initially got a bump from those results, but remain down 0.5% this year and up just 1.4% over 12 months. The lackluster response on Tuesday to reports of thousands of potential job cuts means investors are likely in wait-and-see mode.

Disney shares have pretty much gone nowhere in a year.

Earlier this month, a team of Bernstein analysts led by Laurent Yoon noted that even as Disney appears to be on track for double-digit earnings-per-share growth through this year and next, the stock is rangebound sitting at just over 14 times 2027 earnings.

Disney's direct-to-consumer offering, such as streaming and content delivered straight to users, is the "key growth engine," for the company, but requires "continued investment," said Yoon and his colleagues. Pointing to reported layoffs involving a few hundred workers in September, the analysts said the company appears to be trying to fund that investment growth.

"And if DIS doesn't invest? Then we suspect the stock remains rangebound, as it has for years, absent a more compelling growth narrative to drive investor confidence."

-Barbara Kollmeyer

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11-03-26 0536ET