Reported By Scott Harris
Hundreds of Disney employees are being handed pink slips and escorted off the property. Disney won't release any numbers, but does say the layoffs are part of the restructuring announced last month.
News 13 has heard numbers from about 400 to 800 people losing their jobs, but Disney won't say or confirm anything.
We do know that any company making mass layoffs of 500 people or more is supposed to notify the state and local government. However, Disney operates with a number of different "companies.”
We do know the restructuring is not affecting union workers.
"No, it's not. Our members' contract provides guarantee on hours, job security and wage increases, so none of our members are affected by these changes," said Eric Clinton, the president of Unite Here! Local 362.
A Disney spokesman did tell News 13 none of the layoffs are performance-related, and fall under one of three different categories.
Restructuring combines back office operations in all parks and resorts.
The second category is operational efficiencies. Like all companies, Disney may have promoted people and added positions during growth years that under stricter inspection aren't justified, and maybe the supervisor to employee ration is really higher than it needs to be.
The final area is demand. If there are fewer people coming to the parks, they probably don't need as many employees.
However, demand works the other way too.
"This morning there was 27 part-time workers in either food and beverage and housekeeping hired this morning," Clinton said.
Clinton emphasized they were part-time jobs, and he said the hiring cycles are down from last year.
Clinton also said while his union workers were not affected, they were affected.
By seeing friends and co-workers escorted off the property has not exactly made Walt Disney World the "Happiest Place On Earth" this week.
According to our sources, a group called the "Cast Services Support Team" was completely done away with. We're told that group was organized just a few years ago to help Disney with employee retention. That was back when the economy was still pumping, and unemployment rates were low.
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