Travel Network

Today Josh D’Amaro the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products announced the true impact of Coronavirus on Disney parks. Disney will lay off around 28,000 employees of the 100,000 after initially furloughing a large number of their employees who were not necessary on the 19th April 2020. Disney Parks has had a massive impact to its resorts across the US but also globally with their profits dropping 91% during the first quarter of 2020.

The Coronavirus pandemic has had a bigger and longer impact on tourism globally but several countries have banned citizens from travelling internationally which has compounded the impacts on Disney Parks.

While Disney had planed to re-open it’s two parks in Anaheim, California on the 17th July 2020 but Disneyland and California Adventure re-opening has been delayed indefinitely. Walt Disney World Florida had begun a phased opening in July but rising cases of Coronavirus in Florida might delay this further.

Disney Parks Press Release Shown Below

In light of the prolonged impact of COVID-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic – exacerbated in California by the State’s unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen – we have made the very difficult decision to begin the process of reducing our workforce at our Parks, Experiences and Products segment at all levels, having kept non-working Cast Members on furlough since April, while paying healthcare benefits. Approximately 28,000 domestic employees will be affected, of which about 67% are part-time. We are talking with impacted employees as well as to the unions on next steps for union-represented Cast Members.

Over the past several months, we’ve been forced to make a number of necessary adjustments to our business, and as difficult as this decision is today, we believe that the steps we are taking will enable us to emerge a more effective and efficient operation when we return to normal. Our Cast Members have always been key to our success, playing a valued and important role in delivering a world-class experience, and we look forward to providing opportunities where we can for them to return.

Source: https://dpep.disney.com/update/

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