ORLANDO, Fla. – Disney is laying off thousands more workers than initially expected, according to a new Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
The company just filed the notice on Wednesday, about two months after Disney announced it would lay off 28,000 employees due to the ongoing financial troubles it’s facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new filing reveals the total number of layoffs has climbed to 32,000 in the first half of the 2021 fiscal year, which is 4,000 more job cuts than Disney announced it planned to make in a September SEC filing.
[TRENDING: No new COVID-19 numbers on Thanksgiving | Florida Rep says Trump should pardon himself | 15-year-old girl dies after overdosing]
“Due to the current climate, including COVID-19 impacts, and changing environment in which we are operating, the Company has generated efficiencies in its staffing, including limiting hiring to critical business roles, furloughs and reductions-in-force. As part of these actions, the employment of approximately 32,000 employees primarily at Parks, Experiences and Products will terminate in the first half of fiscal 2021,” the filing read. “Additionally, as of October 3, 2020, approximately 37,000 employees who are not scheduled for employment termination were on furlough as a result of COVID-19′s impact on our businesses.”
It’s unclear how many, if any, of the latest round of layoffs will impact Central Florida employees.
Previously, 11,350 Orlando-area employees at Walt Disney World and other support operations were expected to be laid off come the end of the year. Based on other notices Disney had previously filed, the total number of affected Central Florida workers was 18,019.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, Disney has lost billions of dollars in revenue as its parks and resorts were shut down for months.
In May, shortly after the initial closures, Disney officials reported its second-quarter profit dropped 91% to $475 million, down from $5.4 billion a year earlier. Overall, the company said costs related to COVID-19 cut Disney’s pretax profit by $1.4 billion.
In August, Disney reported a third-quarter loss of nearly $5 billion, a number that was actually better than analysts expected, according to the Associated Press.
Walt Disney Co. reported fiscal fourth-quarter loss earlier this month thanks largely to changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its earnings were dragged by costs from restructuring related to its streaming services and lost revenue from its California theme parks, which were still closed at the time due to surging coronavirus cases in the U.S.
Walt Disney World’s Orlando theme parks were shut down from March until June, when they began gradually reopening. Since then, its four major parks have reopened but only at limited capacity to allow the enforcement of social distancing measures as the pandemic continues.
[READ MORE: Disney World plans to increase capacity to 35% | Disney posts 4Q loss as parks business, costs drag results]
Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced earlier this month that the company’s Orlando theme parks are now allowing the parks to have up to 35% of total capacity each day, which is up from the 25% they allowed during at the beginning of the parks’ phased reopenings.
The shuttered attractions also forced more than 70,000 Disney workers to be furloughed for months, with only some returning to work with the parks’ phased reopenings.
The latest round of Disney layoffs comes one week after Universal Orlando officials said more than 1,000 of its team members are facing layoffs. The company has also faced financial hardships due to the pandemic, which forced its parks to remain closed for months earlier this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.