The Walt Disney Company carried out another round of layoffs on July 21, 2026, cutting several hundred jobs in its third workforce reduction of the year. Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville took the biggest hit, with additional cuts at National Geographic and ESPN.
Pixar was hit hardest. Around 150 roles were eliminated at the Emeryville campus, mostly in production and operations, which works out to less than 10% of the studio’s staff. Disney tied the move to CEO Josh D’Amaro’s One Disney strategy, which the company has pitched as a way to cut down silos, streamline operations, and make Disney more agile.
Disney also cut jobs at National Geographic, inside Disney Entertainment Television, and at ESPN following the NFL Network acquisition. At the same time, Disney says it’s continuously reviewing how resources are allocated and reinvesting as the media business keeps changing.
Pixar is dealing with pressure on a few fronts. Disney is dialing back from the heavier Disney+ output period, originals like Hoppers have had a tough time, and Toy Story 5 is now pushing toward $1 billion worldwide. That only adds to the sense that franchises are still the safer bet.
For anyone who follows Disney or Pixar closely, the context matters. Pixar already cut about 175 jobs in 2024, and the long-and-lean model that’s been reported since then has been tied to bottlenecks, crunch concerns, low morale, and now another destabilizing shake-up during an ongoing transition at a studio that helped define modern animation.
Author: Chema Carvajal Sarabia
{
"de-DE": "Journalist, spezialisiert auf Technologie, Unterhaltung und Videospiele. Über das zu schreiben, was mich begeistert (Gadgets, Spiele und Filme), ermöglicht es mir, bei Verstand zu bleiben und mit einem Lächeln im Gesicht aufzuwachen, wenn der Wecker klingelt. PS: Das stimmt nicht 100% der Zeit.",
"en-US": "Journalist specialized in technology, entertainment and video games. Writing about what I'm passionate about (gadgets, games and movies) allows me to stay sane and wake up with a smile on my face when the alarm clock goes off. PS: this is not true 100% of the time.",
"es-ES": "Content Manager - Periodista especializado en tecnología, entretenimiento y videojuegos. Escribir sobre lo que me apasiona (cacharros, juegos y cine) me permite seguir cuerdo y despertarme con una sonrisa cuando suena el despertador. PD: esto no es cierto el 100 % de las veces.",
"fr-FR": "Journaliste spécialisé dans la technologie, le divertissement et les jeux vidéo. Écrire sur ce qui me passionne (gadgets, jeux et films) me permet de rester sain d'esprit et de me réveiller avec le sourire aux lèvres quand le réveil sonne. PS : cela n'est pas vrai 100 % du temps.",
"it-IT": "Giornalista specializzato in tecnologia, intrattenimento e videogiochi. Scrivere di ciò che mi appassiona (gadget, giochi e film) mi permette di mantenere la sanità mentale e di svegliarmi con un sorriso sul viso quando suona la sveglia. PS: questo non è vero al 100% del tempo.",
"ja-JP": "",
"nl-NL": "",
"pl-PL": "",
"pt-BR": "Jornalista especializado em tecnologia, entretenimento e videogames. Escrever sobre o que me apaixona (gadgets, jogos e filmes) me permite manter a sanidade e acordar com um sorriso no rosto quando o despertador toca. PS: isso não é verdade 100% do tempo.",
"social": {
"email": "chemacs91@gmail.com",
"facebook": "",
"twitter": "https://twitter.com/chematopetazo",
"linkedin": ""
}
}
View all posts by Chema Carvajal Sarabia
