Imagineers Among At Least 100 Disney Theme Park Workers Laid Off

Walt Disney Co.'s theme parks division is laying off between 100 and 200 people, and all affected employees were set to be notified by the end of the day Wednesday. The bulk of the pink slips were at Disney's Imagineering campus in Glendale, home to the group that designs and builds Disney's parks, attractions, and resorts. The cuts are limited to the experiences division, which includes Disney's theme parks, cruise line and Aulani resort and spa in Hawaii. For Metaintro readers, this guide covers who was hit, why a profitable division is trimming staff, what California's WARN law, explained on the Employment Development Department's WARN page, requires employers to give laid-off workers, how much state jobless pay is worth, and which Imagineering and Experiences roles are still posted.

How Many Disney Theme Park Workers Are Losing Their Jobs?

The range of between 100 and 200 people comes from a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly, and Deadline has confirmed the same range of cuts in the Experiences division.

The same person tied the cuts to a regular evaluation of the division's priorities, investments and project timelines. Disney declined to comment, so there is no company statement listing job titles, sites or severance terms.

For scale, Disney had 231,000 employees as of the end of fiscal 2025, with 172,000 of them in the U.S.

Why Are Imagineers Taking the Biggest Share of the Cuts?

Walt Disney Imagineering describes itself on its careers page as where imagination and creativity combine with cutting-edge technology to create unforgettable experiences. The moves were mostly project-based, a person familiar with the decision told Deadline, because the division constantly must reprioritize and schedule work across multiple projects.

Fan sites citing their own sources add detail that Disney has not confirmed. Teams working on the Shanghai Disney Resort project are among those affected, according to WDWMagic. Imagineers focused on domestic work were also impacted, both in Orlando and Glendale, Laughing Place understands, and its sources say the Abu Dhabi project is not being delayed.

Affected Imagineers have started confirming the cuts on social media. Staffing at the unit has always varied based on projects and their timelines.

The latest round of belt-tightening across Hollywood has now reached the Happiest Place on Earth, according to the Los Angeles Times report.

Why Is Disney Cutting Jobs in Its Economic Engine?

In fiscal 2025, the segment brought in $36.2 billion in revenue and more than 56% of the company's total operating income. In Disney's latest quarterly earnings, Experiences profit rose 20% to over $3 billion on almost $10 billion in revenue.

Disney has more parks-related projects in progress than ever before, by the Los Angeles Times count. On its August earnings call, Disney described the international visitation headwinds at its domestic parks as having moderated.

The project list is long. Walt Disney Imagineering has three lands currently in development at Walt Disney World, plus the DisneylandForward expansion in Anaheim and the continued expansion of Disney Cruise Line.

How Does This Round Fit Disney's Other Job Cuts This Year?

Josh D'Amaro has overseen multiple rounds of layoffs since the company veteran succeeded Bob Iger as CEO last March. The first came last April, when 1,000 positions were cut, and several hundred more followed in July, mostly at Pixar and National Geographic.

A September round impacted a couple hundred employees in the areas of tech and HR. The parks cuts are not related to those earlier job cuts, which include Disney's earlier HR and technology layoffs.

Disney also made a voluntary early retirement offer to employees at or above the director level who are 50 years old or older and have been at the company for at least 10 years. Talk of more layoffs has circulated internally since a September 18 memo by Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer Horacio Gutierrez, who warned of hard choices about staffing investments in his own division.

Disney is not alone. Workers at Skydance are bracing for layoffs as the company looks to cut $6 billion in costs over three years, and Hollywood is in the midst of an industry-wide consolidation that has affected wide swaths of Southern California.

What Does California's WARN Law Require When Layoffs Hit 50 or More?

California's WARN law applies to a "covered establishment" that employs or has employed in the preceding 12 months, 75 or more full and part-time employees, and employees must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted. Under the state law, a covered layoff is a layoff of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period regardless of % of workforce. Federal WARN applies only to employers with 100 or more full-time employees who must have been employed for at least 6 months of the 12 months preceding the date of required notice in order to be counted, and it covers layoffs within a 30-day period involving 50 to 499 full-time employees constituting at least 33% of the full-time workforce at a single site of employment, while layoffs of 500 or more are covered regardless of percentage of workforce.

When the law applies, the employer must give written notice at least 60 days before a mass layoff to affected employees, the EDD, the Local Workforce Development Area and the chief elected official of the local government. The notice must give the name and address of the employment site, the name, phone number and email of a company contact, whether the action is permanent or temporary, whether the entire plant will be closed, the expected date of the first separation and the schedule for later separations. It must also list the job titles of affected positions and the number of employees affected by job title, broken out by location when more than one site is hit.

There is a new rule this year. From 2026, under Senate Bill (SB) 617, WARN notices must explain how the employer will support workers who are laid off, say whether it plans to work with the local workforce board, another organization, or not coordinate services, and include contact information and a short description of the services available to workers. Separately, the notice must carry a description of the CalFresh program, which helps eligible families buy groceries with monthly benefits on an EBT card.

Under California WARN, an employer that skips notice faces a possible civil penalty of $500 a day for each day of violation. Employees may receive back pay at their final rate or 3-year average rate of compensation, whichever is higher, and the employer is also liable for the cost of any medical expenses incurred by employees that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. That liability runs for the period of violation up to 60 days or one-half the number of days the employee was employed, whichever period is smaller.

Do Project Hires and Seasonal Workers Get the Same Protection?

Not always. California WARN does not apply when the closing or layoff is the result of the completion of a particular project or undertaking by an employer subject to Wage Orders 11, 12 or 16, which regulate the motion picture industry and construction, drilling, logging and mining, when the employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of that project.

Seasonal staff are also outside California's notice rules when they were hired with the understanding that their employment was seasonal and temporary. Seasonal and part-time work is common at Disney, where 16% of workers are part-time and another 8% are seasonal employees.

Part-time status works differently. Under federal WARN, part-time workers are not counted when deciding if there has been a plant closure or mass layoff, but they must still get a WARN notice if one is given. Under California WARN, employees who have worked at least 6 months in the 12 months before the WARN Notice is required are counted when deciding if there is a mass layoff, plant closure or relocation at a covered company.

That project exemption needs both conditions, an employer under one of those wage orders and workers hired with the understanding that the job lasted only for that project. Disney, which declined to comment, has given no word on whether any of the laid-off Imagineers were project hires.

How Much Can Laid-Off Californians Collect in Unemployment?

California's weekly unemployment benefit can range from $40 to $450 a week, based on your earnings. The EDD estimates the amount from your highest-earning quarter, and its calculator tells claimants to gather total wages from all jobs you've had in the last 18 months.

The calculator asks for gross wages including vacation pay, tips, residual payments, commissions and bonuses, and tells claimants not to include severance pay. Benefits usually start on the Sunday of the week you first apply, so file the same week your job ends.

You file through myEDD, where you can apply for unemployment benefits, reopen an existing claim, and manage your benefits account, and the general steps are laid out in how to apply for unemployment benefits.

After a WARN notice is processed, the Local Workforce Development Area coordinates Rapid Response services, which provide job search assistance, offer training opportunities, explain unemployment insurance benefits and reduce disruptions to workers and communities.

This is a 12-18-month Project Hire position with no guarantee of permanent placement, according to the Disney Product Manager listing.

Is Disney Still Hiring for Imagineering and Experiences Roles?

Yes, in specific areas. The Walt Disney Imagineering careers page shows 2 results, a Senior Project Planner/Scheduler (for Cruise Portfolio) on a 4 years FTC in London, posted October 14th 2026, and a Vice President, Portfolio Executive, Cruise New Build role in Papenburg, Germany, posted October 15th 2026.

The London role supports all Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Cruise Line project teams and functional disciplines involved in the delivery of new build cruise ships. Among its requirements is Critical Path Method scheduling experience (project scheduling software used is P6), and it prefers a BS degree in Engineering, Architecture or Construction Management, with specific education in Marine Engineering or Naval Architecture preferred along with work experience in theme parks, cruise lines, major resort or show/ride product lines. The planner will also monitor progress, evaluate risks and proactively develop recovery or mitigation plans to help keep the project on track for turnover and opening milestones.

Outside Imagineering, Disney's careers site also lists a Product Manager (Project Hire) role in Orlando, posted October 15th 2026, with a hiring range of $111,900 to $150,000 a year. The position is with Walt Disney Attractions Technology LLC, part of the business Disney calls Disney Experiences. Its required qualifications are a minimum 3 years of related work experience, being analytical and curious, the ability to interpret data and user insights to support product decision-making, troubleshooting skills and the ability to resolve complex issues and exercise good judgment and initiative in stressful situations, and comfort working in an agile environment. The list also asks for technical proficiency in Agile/Scrum, UX principles, software lifecycle and product KPIs, openness to learning new technologies, familiarity with product development concepts, agile practices or software workflows, the ability to define basic requirements or user stories with guidance, and comfort working with cross-functional partners, plus a Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent work experience.

The hire joins the Lodging Sales Distribution team within Disney Experiences Technology & Digital, which is responsible for technology that powers guests, travel agents, wholesale distribution and group and event sales across Disney destinations.

Staff who are still employed are pointed to a separate portal through the Current Employees, Apply at MyDisneyCareer link.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

For laid-off Imagineers looking at the open roles, the London cruise role, which sits within Walt Disney Imagineering, requires significant years of project planning / scheduling in marine, shipyard, cruise ship or large vessel environments and lists theme parks and show/ride product lines only as preferred experience, so park-only experience covers the preferred list, not the required one. Keep your separation papers and any WARN notice you receive, and file for state benefits in the week your job ends. For WARN enforcement or a possible violation of California WARN law, contact the Department of Industrial Relations, which the EDD lists for WARN enforcement.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A project job ends when the project changes, not when you stop doing good work. Treat every contract like it has an end date, and keep your portfolio and your next lead ready before you need them.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many people did Disney lay off in its theme parks division?

A: Disney's Experiences division is laying off between 100 and 200 people, and Disney declined to comment.

Q: Were Walt Disney Imagineering employees laid off?

A: Yes. Most of the cuts landed at Disney's Imagineering campus in Glendale, and a person familiar with the decision called the moves mostly project-based.

Q: Do laid-off Disney workers in California get advance notice?

A: When California's WARN law applies, it requires written notice at least 60 days before a mass layoff, and the EDD's WARN page sets out in full which employers are covered and the project and seasonal exemptions. Disney declined to comment and has not said whether it filed a notice for this round.

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