Disney has shut its metaverse team – known as Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences – which consisted of about 50 employees. The move comes as part of the first wave of job cuts that the company has begun this week.
Disney will be laying off more employees in this week. The announcement was made by the company CEO Bob Iger. In February, Iger had announced that the company will be firing 7000 employees as part of its $5.5 billion cost-cutting initiative.
This will be the first of the three rounds of layoffs, as reported by international media. The second round will begin in April and the third will take place before the beginning of the summer, reports said. Major divisions of the company like Disney Entertainment and Disney Parks will be impacted due to the cut offs.
The layoffs are the first big move by Iger after he was reinstated as Disney’s CEO in November 2022. The company had abruptly fired the then CEO Bob Chapek.
The job slashes come in the wake of similar cuts throughout the big tech firms and IT industry.
