ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — More than 11,000 unionized Walt Disney Parks and Resorts employees are losing their jobs, according to a new notice filed with the state of Florida.


What You Need To Know

  • 11,350 union Disney World Parks and Resorts workers are losing their jobs

  • Disney recently notified the state of Florida of the layoffs

  • Previously, Disney sent notice that nearly 6,700 nonunion workers would be laid off

  • 28,000 across Disney's Parks, Experiences and Products division being cut

Last month, the Walt Disney Company announced it would lay off 28,000 U.S. employees across its Parks, Experiences and Products division. At the time, Disney didn't disclose how many of those layoffs would impact Disney World.

The notice, dated October 29, shows that 11,350 union workers at Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts are among those being laid off. Those layoffs go into effect December 31. These layoffs are in addition to the nearly 6,700 nonunion workers Disney World said would be laid off on December 4. In total, about 18,000 of the previously-announced layoffs are coming from Florida.

Thousands of Disney World workers have already received layoff notices from the company. Earlier this week, more than 700 equity performers and entertainers were notified. Many were part of popular shows in the parks such as Beauty and the Beast—Live on Stage, which has remain closed since Disney World reopened its parks in mid-July.

On Friday, Disney released a statement about the entertainment cuts in post on its official Disney Parks Blog.

"Recently, we've had to make some difficult decisions to reduce our workforce as the business impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic have become more long-lasting than anyone could have predicted," wrote Bettina Buckley, vice president of Walt Disney World Live Entertainment. "As a result, we've had to pause many live shows and entertainment experiences at our resort for longer than originally anticipated."

Buckley added that determining which shows can return and when is "a complex process."

"As with the rest of our phased reopening, we will consider the guidance of health officials and government agencies in determining when the time will be right to adjust capacity, and as soon as it is appropriate, we will start to bring additional entertainment back."