Fox Layoffs: 4,000 Job Cuts Following Disney-Fox Merger

Barely a few days after the landmark $71.3-billion takeover of legendary Fox studio, Walt Disney has initiated a layoff exercise in the one-time rival studio.

According to reports, as many as 4,000 jobs may be cut under the merger plan. The hardest hit will be the film team.

Many high-level executives at the 20th Century Fox in Century City received termination notices and severance packages on Thursday.

Under the deal, Disney gets Fox film and television studios, cable channels FX and National Geographic and many international television properties including Star India.

Disney is yet to disclose the actual number of jobs it is aiming to cut. But the company is looking to at least $2 billion in cost synergies by 2021 from operating efficiencies backed by workforce reductions. Many of those jobs are in Los Angeles.

Top honchos leaving Fox

Among the high profile executives losing jobs will be Chris Aronson, president of domestic theatrical distribution.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the domestic distribution team, which I consider to be the gold standard in the business,” Aronson’s statement added.

Other important Fox officials leaving the film studio will be international distribution head Andrew Cripps, marketing head Pam Levine, and domestic publicity chief Heather Phillips.

Both Cripps and Chris Aronson are platinum executives with a three-decade-long service record.

Some of the pink-slipped staff are marketing co-president Kevin Campbell, chief content officer Tony Sella, product head Mike Dunn and 20th Television President Greg Meidel.

Under the new integration plan, Disney will shut down the Fox 2000 label headed by Elizabeth Gabler that was famous for producing book adaptations such as The Hate U Give, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Those surviving dismissals will include Fox Family president Vanessa Morrison, 20th Century Fox Film vice chairman Emma Watts, and Fox Searchlight co-heads Steve Gilula.

Despite the shock of layoffs, the severance packages are lucrative with many staff getting full pay of one to two years.

The strategic gain for Disney

Disney’s aim is to use the combined company’s formidable intellectual property as an edge in facing the competition from Netflix and others in the competitive streaming video market.

In a memo, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and President Alan Bergman said they would be transparent about the changes that take place at the entertainment company.

“Day-to-day, our top priorities remain the same: to support the great content we’re creating and deliver a superb experience to our consumers, and continue to build an inspiring, inclusive environment," they said.

After the Disney takeover, Rupert Murdoch and family is left with Fox News Channel, Fox Sports, Fox broadcast network and a 50-acre studio in Century City.

The Murdoch family has already created a trimmed-down company named as Fox Corp.