It’s the day that WDW managers & directors have been dreading
since July of 2006. Back when — in an effort to contain costs at
corporate headquarters — Walt Disney Studios laid off 20% of its
staff.
650 people who worked at Disney corporate headquarters
lost their jobs then. And at that time, folks who worked in management
at Disney Parks & Resorts were warned that a similar
reduction-in-staff was headed their way.
But then 2006 gave way
to 2007. And those execs who had felt the most vulnerable, who worked
in divisions of Disney Parks & Resorts, Disney Vacation Club and
the Disney Cruise Line that really weren’t making their numbers, began
to breathe easier. Thinking that they had actually dodged a bullet.
That the long-rumored axe wasn’t going to fall on them.
Well,
think again. Back in October of 2008, Disney senior executives met in
Burbank. And faced with declining ad revenues at ABC & ESPN,
dropping attendance levels at the company’s theme parks as well as a 30
% fall-off in DVD sales, Mouse House managers now felt that they had no
choice. They had to make more cuts. And the most obvious place to start this time around was DP & R, DVC and DCL.
“Why
there?,” you ask. Well, at least when it comes to WDW management,
there’s long been a belief in Burbank that Disney World is too top
heavy. That there’s a Department of Redundancy Department aspect to
that Resort’s management team. With VPs reporting to VPs who then
report to other VPs. And were the Mouse to streamline operations as
well as reduce head count in Walt Disney World’s executive suite …
Well, that would then go an awfully long way toward improving WDW’s
bottom line.
Now it’s important to stress here that no one who
works in Disney World management has actually been laid off. Not yet,
anyway. Mouse House officials have identified 313 likely candidates at
the Resort, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line for buyouts.
And as I understand it, a good number of the managers & directors
who have been targeted are near and/or approaching retirement age.
Which is why Disney hopes that at least 2/3rds of these candidates will
actually opt for VPS (i.e. the Company’s voluntary separation plan).
The Team Disney Building in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved
Because — should a sufficient number of WDW managers opt not to take advantage of Disney’s voluntary separation package … Well, that’s where things get interesting.
You
see, Mickey doesn’t like to lay people off. It would rather lower
Disney World’s executive head count by way of attrition. But given
what’s going on with the economy right now … If the only way that the
Mouse can put heads in beds in Orlando is by rolling out a seemingly
endless series of promotions & giveaways … Well, that financial
shortfall has to be made up somewhere. Particularly since the people
who are visiting WDW these days just aren’t meeting the Resort’s per
capita spending quotas. Especially when it comes to food & souvenir
sales.
Now please keep in mind that this buyout is not
a WDW / DVC / DCL -exclusive issue. Nearly 200 executives at Walt
Disney Imagineering are also being offered this package. As are 90+
directors at Disneyland.
Meanwhile back at the Studios …
There are lots of folks who are secretly enjoying this moment of
schadenfreude. Having survived the 2006 layoffs, these Studios staffers
are positively gleeful that it’s Disney Parks & Resorts, Disney
Vacation Club, the Disney Cruise Line and Walt Disney Imagineering who
are now taking it in the shorts. Of course, this not-so-happy-camper
attitude may have something to do with that edict that allegedly came
down in Burbank last month. Which reportedly said that every film that
Disney has in development and/or preproduction has to figure out a way
to lower its proposed production costs by at least 20%.
But if
the rumors I’ve been hearing lately prove to be true, the bad times may
not be over in Burbank. Not yet, anyway. There’s been lots of talk
lately about yet another reduction-in-staff out there. With Walt Disney
Animation Studios supposedly being targeted this time around.
But
as of right now, all eyes are on February 6th. To see how many of the
619 directors & managers who’ve been offered this buyout actually
opt to take the voluntary separation package. For if not enough execs
volunteer to exit over the next two weeks … Well, from what I’ve been
told, the layoffs in WDW management could begin before March.
Your thoughts?