Los Angeles (AFP)
Disney announced Tuesday the cutting of 28,000 jobs in the United States in its activities related to amusement parks, citing the impact of the pandemic on its revenues and in particular the closure of Disneyland for more than six months.
About two-thirds of the employees concerned are employed part-time, assures Disney, which had 223,000 employees as of December 31, 2019.
The decision comes from "the prolonged impact of Covid-19 on our business, including capacity reductions at sites, in connection with physical distancing, and uncertainties over the duration of the pandemic", justifies the world number one entertainment in a press release.
Uncertainties "exacerbated by the refusal of California to lift the restrictions that would allow the reopening of Disneyland", located in Anaheim, near Los Angeles, accuses Josh D'Amaro, who chairs Disney activities including amusement parks, cruises, events and related products.
Disneyland is the second most visited amusement park in the world, behind Disney World in Orlando (Florida), which already reopened in July with a limited gauge.
Other Disney parks have also reopened in Asia or Paris.
The Little Mouse usually attracts millions of tourists each year to its California park, officially dubbed "the happiest place on Earth."
Disneyland park had initially planned to reopen gradually from July 17 but had to give it up due to lack of the green light from local authorities, who kept health restrictions in place due to a resurgence of the epidemic of coronavirus.
To date, some 805,000 cases of Covid-19 have been identified in California, the most populous US state.
- A drop of 85% -
When amusement parks had to close, like most cultural establishments, "we had hoped for a quick return to normal," Josh D'Amaro notes in a letter to his employees.
"Seven months later, it is clear that it was not possible".
Last week, Mr. D'Amaro warned California Governor Gavin Newsom that failing to "help us reopen", tens of thousands of Disneyland workers would find themselves without jobs.
"The longer we wait, the more devastating will be the impact" on the local populations, he said, calling on the California authorities to "treat amusement parks in the same way as other sectors".
Although the spread of the pandemic has stabilized in California, many economic sectors are not yet allowed to welcome the public in closed places, including the many theme parks in the south of the state.
Governor Newsom recently promised that he would publish "soon" the health criteria to be met in these areas of activity.
From April to June 2020, Disney raked in $ 11.8 billion in revenue, half the amount of a year ago.
In the third quarter of its staggered fiscal year, the entertainment empire posted a net loss of $ 4.7 billion.
Only its streaming branch achieved a turnover higher than 2019, thanks to the considerable increase in the number of paying subscribers on its various platforms (Disney +, ESPN + and Hulu), boosted by the confinement.
Over the same period, park and event activity plunged 85% to $ 983 million.
“For several months now, our human resources team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate ourselves from anyone,” added Mr. D'Amaro.
"We have cut expenses, suspended important projects, laid off actors and made our operations more efficient, but we cannot keep all of our employees by opening with such limited capacities."
© 2020 AFP