Overview

• Earlier in June, Disney eliminated several hundred marketing roles before trimming under two percent of its product and technology workforce this week.
• Adam Smith, who joined from YouTube last year as chief product and technology officer, led the cuts to reallocate resources across Disney+ and Hulu development teams.
• Disney says it is still hiring in product and technology to support innovations aimed at improving user experience and expanding subscriber benefits.
• The company is on track to introduce a new ESPN streaming service this fall featuring fantasy sports integrations, expanded statistics, betting tools and e-commerce options.
• These staffing moves follow CEO Bob Iger’s 2022 initiative to cut 7,000 jobs and echo industry shifts prompted by declining linear TV viewership.