Just as the world sank during the #pandemic as people had to stay indoors, the amusement #parks had the same fate. So is the case of one of the world's largest #theme parks and resorts network run by Disney.
This segment of Disney has been hit the hardest by the pandemic, as the financial reports showed. Since the outbreak began, Disney lost $4.5 billion, the steepest loss being reported in Q3 - $3.5 billion.
To keep itself afloat, especially in the US, the company has to layoff 28,000 people across its parks, and Experience and Consumer Products division. The decision has been made public yesterday by Josh D'Amaro, Head of Parks, through a memo to his employees.
In the US, the situation is more difficult than the rest of the world, as the states where Disney has theme parks don't allow the reopening of such facilities. For quite some time, Disney representatives have been working on persuading the Californian legislators to provide guidelines for reopening parks. According to the company's media updates, the safety measures imposed in parks across Florida, Paris, Shanghai, and Japan proved efficient. Moreover, due to the Californian restrictions, the reopening of a resort in Anaheim on July 17 has been postponed indefinitely.
There is some silver lining of this situation, as 67% of the 28,000 people will be part-time workers. Despite the difficult decision, D'Amaro is looking towards the future and ways to bring his employees back, "We look forward to providing opportunities where we can for them to return," his memo read.
Following the news, Disney stock price lost 0.47%. Currently, the company’s stock price is trading 1.95% lower.
Sources: cnbc.com, edition.cnn.com, finance.yahoo.com