Disneyland and California Adventure entered their eighth month of being shut down due to the coronavirus. As a result of the shutdown, Disney recently announced the layoffs of 28,000 employees in the United States, 67% of them part-time employees. Disney executives made cuts to both the California and Florida locations regarding the Parks, Products, and Experience branches. Over four hundred people in Disney’s role of “Imagineering” have also been let go.  

Since the parks’ initial closures back in March, the corporation has lost billions of dollars over the past months, losing $5 billion in April, May, and June alone. Josh D’Amaro, the chairman of Disney parks, made the following statements about employees’ mass layoffs. “As difficult as this decision is today, we believe that the steps we are taking will enable us to emerge a more effective and efficient operation when we return to normal…we look forward to providing opportunities where we can for them to return.” D’Amaro expressed frustration with reopening the parks in California as they were initially scheduled to reopen on July 16 of this year. They were then announced to be pushed back indefinitely as cases of the virus continued to rise. “We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.” D’Amaro critiqued California’s Government’s “unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow Disneyland to reopen.” No comments from the governor’s office have been made about Disney’s statements.

In Florida, cast members have started The Cast Member Pantry, a food pantry for Disney workers who were laid off during the pandemic to ensure none of them go hungry and can still provide for their families during this difficult time. When discussing the now additional layoffs, their mission is, “‘no cast member goes hungry.’ It’s a big undertaking, especially now, with the news of layoffs and the unknown with how long this is going to last.” Many of Disney’s laid-off employees are struggling with how to support themselves. Currently, Disney has not made any other accommodations that suggest supporting the workers that are now left jobless. For now, the group has set up a Venmo account and set up an Amazon wish list for people who would like to donate. One can find further information regarding donations on the Cast Member Pantry Facebook page. 

As the pandemic continues and California cases are still at such a large number, it will be months and potentially years until things return to a sense of normality. The job market and how people support themselves have been completely uprooted because of the Coronavirus. With fewer companies hiring overall and now 28,000 unemployed workers, we face new questions of what to do for people in these situations. With a vaccine still several months away, it is time for new changes to be made to ensure all Americans can support themselves in these unprecedented times.