Orange County Register in California reports 411 layoffs at Walt Disney Imagineering

Posted: Wednesday September 30, 2020 6:13pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The Orange County Register in California reports that there have been 411 layoffs at Walt Disney Imagineering.

The creative arm of the Walt Disney theme parks is headquartered in Glendale, and employs a wide variety of specialists who work on all aspects of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Although no specifics have been given, we understand that some high profile Imagineers may be part of the layoffs.

Imagineering has frequently gone through periods of growth and cutbacks over the years, typically as projects come to an end.

Disney has so far announced 2765 non-union layoffs in California, with many more expected from the union workforce which represents a very high percentage of Disneyland's Cast Members.

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CaptainAmericaMar 07, 2021

tommcp516Mar 07, 2021

That's great news--first and foremost for the CM's and also for people with upcoming trips. I'm curious if the specific details of who is being called back might give an indication of where the next change in Covid-related closures might occur: are there any callbacks to laid-off CM's from a currently closed resort, restaurant, or attraction/entertainment (which means an opening might be on the near horizon)? Or are they calling back laid-off CM's to currently open resorts, restaurants, or attractions (which means that an increase in capacity might be coming soon)?

HauntedMansionFLAMar 07, 2021

Yes. Lots and lots of call backs.

nickysMar 07, 2021

Great news, nonetheless.

Disney AnalystMar 07, 2021

Unsure of date. Same role, but may not be same location. Still waiting to find out.

SkywiseMar 07, 2021

At this point, having had the vaccine, he'd probably test positive for that now?

asianwayMar 07, 2021

Ah I was curious I had thought the test only works for three months after but who knows at this point, there so many conflicting stories

SirwalterraleighMar 07, 2021

No...I have not. I thought about getting one last summer/fall...but I wasn’t in bad health and we were medically unprepared to handle everyone till recently. I was a 1A for vax in my state...but I waited until 1B for it.

tommcp516Mar 07, 2021

Out of curiosity, was your friend given a tentative re-hire date? Was it to their same position?

asianwayMar 07, 2021

You had an antibody test?

SirwalterraleighMar 05, 2021

I know it’s serious...that’s why I pointed out the context and where it’s at.

SirwalterraleighMar 05, 2021

I am still debating whether to pay the park hopper add on... It really depends on the weather, the crowds and the hours. Right now hours after 2 and not knowing if they’ll “ease” their capacity limits in a busy week means “no”.

Chip ChippersonMar 05, 2021

Yeah it definitely wouldn't be worth it to keep the passes knowing you wouldn't get to use them. Had we not already gotten 2 trips out of our passes and knew we wouldn't get back again before the extension ran out then we would have gone for the refund when it was offered. But we got our money's worth out of them and we'll get our money's worth out of them again this time, so I'm glad we held on to them. I'm not sure we would have been able to "renew" them if we had taken the refund and the thought of buying tickets when we aren't even sure how much time we'll be spending in the parks was a bigger headache for us - and our stay won't be long enough to take advantage of the DVC ticket offer so it was an easier call for us to just renew and know that we'll be able to go to the parks and not feel the need to worry about adding on the Park Hopper option just in case we decide we want to hit the food booths or mobile order from Regal Eagle at EPCOT in the afternoon for a meal.