Walt Disney cost-cutting to include layoffs

Walt Disney Co started an internal cost-cutting review several weeks ago that may include layoffs at its studio and other units, three people with knowledge of the effort said in an early sign that big companies may not be finished tightening their belts. Disney, whose empire spans TV, film, merchandise and theme parks, is exploring cutbacks in jobs it no longer needs because of improvements in technology, one of the people said.

It is also looking at redundant operations that could be eliminated following a string of major acquisitions over the past few years, said the person.

The people did not want to be identified because Disney has not disclosed the internal review.

After years of repeated and sometimes severe cost cutting in the wake of the financial crisis, by last summer it looked as though Corporate America had trimmed all the fat and was back on the path of profits through operating growth. But news Disney is weighing cuts - on the heels of Eli Lilly and Co's warning last week that cost controls would drive earnings this year - could herald yet another wave of retrenchment.

Disney executives warned in November that the rising cost of sports rights and moribund home video sales would dampen growth.
In terms of profit margin, Disney's studio is the least profitable of the entertainment conglomerate's four major product divisions. The studio had a profit margin of 12.3 percent in 2012, Reuters reported.