Disney layoffs continue: about 300 more employees are going home

Disney is laying off about 300 employees in a third round of cuts since CEO Josh D'Amaro took office at the beginning of the year. The layoffs focus on the technology and human resources departments, as part of a broad efficiency plan that also includes early retirement offers for veteran managers.

Entertainment giant Disney is laying off about 300 employees in a third round of cuts since new CEO Josh D'Amaro took office at the beginning of the year. The current layoffs focus mainly on the technology and human resources departments, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke to CNBC. The move joins a series of previous steps: in April, Disney planned to eliminate about 1,000 positions when D'Amaro consolidated the marketing division, and in July, hundreds of positions were cut in staff roles at subsidiaries Pixar, ESPN, television channels, and film studios, with most layoffs concentrated at Pixar and National Geographic. Disney warned of the wave of layoffs in its August financial report, where it noted it was exploring ways to reduce costs. At the same time, the company began offering voluntary early retirement packages to veteran managers, aiming to ease the long-term expense burden and free up resources for future investments in growth engines.