Disney increases planned layoffs to 32,000 as virus hits theme parks | Lifestyle.INQ

OCTOBER 27, 2022

(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 14, 2020 an employee cleans the grounds behind the closed gates of Disneyland Park on the first day of the closure of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks as fear of the spread of coronavirus continue, in Anaheim, California. - Disney announced September 29, 2020, it will cut 28,000 jobs from its US parks and experiences division, pointing to depressed demand caused by the coronavirus and uncertainty on when it will recover. (Photo by DAVID MCNEW / AFP)
FILE PHOTO: A general view of the entrance of Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, U.S., March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

Walt Disney Co said on Wednesday it would lay off about 32,000 workers, primarily at its theme parks, an increase from the 28,000 it announced in September, as the company struggles with limited customers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The layoffs will be in the first half of 2021, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A spokesman for Disney confirmed that the latest figures include the 28,000 layoffs announced earlier.

Earlier this month, Disney said it was furloughing additional workers from its theme park in Southern California due to uncertainty over when the state would allow parks to reopen.

Disney’s theme parks in Florida and those outside the United States reopened earlier this year without seeing new major coronavirus outbreaks but with strict social distancing, testing and mask use.

Disneyland Paris was forced to close again late last month when France imposed a new lockdown to fight a second wave of the coronavirus cases.

The company’s theme parks in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo remain open.

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