Disney is in the midst of a so-called restructuring, which unfortunately is often just corporate speak for massive layoffs, and this time Marvel Studios is feeling the impact. According to a report from Forbes, they could lose up to 1,000 jobs.
It is the new Disney boss, Josh D'Amaro, who is driving these changes after taking the helm in March. The focus is on streamlining the organisation, reducing overlapping roles, and consolidating marketing under a single umbrella, a move that has already led to the marketing department being singled out as among the areas most affected.
But the hardest hit this time is Marvel, where the layoffs are cutting straight through both the New York and Burbank offices. Film, TV, comics, finance, legal, nearly every department is feeling the impact. Most striking, however, is that nearly the entire award-winning visual development team at Marvel Studios has been let go.
Marvel has actually been struggling with waning audience interest and expensive productions ever since 2019's Avengers: Endgame and it's unclear how they plan to turn things around. The layoffs are likely to make that even harder, and perhaps it's simply a matter of Disney wanting to downsize the organisation to a scale that better matches the level of interest in Marvel.
What this means for their upcoming projects remains to be seen, but Spider-Man: Brand New Day premieres in July and is therefore nearly finished. As for the status of December's Avengers: Doomsday, however, we don't know what to expect. One thing is clear, though: Marvel is entering a significantly tougher period.