As part of workforce reductions, the Walt Disney Company has closed its metaverse division. Its metaverse division has been dubbed the “next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences unit.” These layoffs are part of a plan to decrease headcount by 7,000 throughout the corporation over the next two months.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the staff of approximately 50 people was committed to devising metaverse tactics. The team was in charge of utilizing Disney’s massive intellectual property collection to deliver interactive stories in various mediums. CEO Bob Iger announced on Monday that layoffs will begin this week. Iger said in an internal message to staff obtained by TechCrunch that there would be three rounds of layoffs, the first of which will begin this week.
“This week, we begin notifying employees whose positions are impacted by the company’s workforce reductions,” Iger wrote. “Leaders will be communicating the news directly to the first group of impacted employees over the next four days. A second, larger round of notifications will happen in April with several thousand more staff reductions, and we expect to commence the final round of notifications before the beginning of the summer to reach our 7,000-job target.”
Mike White, the firm’s metaverse lead, was hired in February 2022 by Disney’s previous CEO Bob Chapek, who hailed the metaverse as “the next great storytelling frontier.” Last November, Robert Iger succeeded Chapek as CEO. White is expected to remain at Disney. White allegedly informed workers shortly after his employment that the objective was to “create an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories.”
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Last year, there was an attempt to launch a membership plan similar to Amazon Prime, which provides free delivery, discounts, exclusive deals, and other benefits. According to the WSJ, this attempt has subsequently been abandoned. For a year following the unit’s inception, Disney’s metaverse approach remained a mystery. The business suggested that the metaverse may be used in fantasy sports, amusement parks, and other consumer activities.
The metaverse is still several years away from becoming popular, which has disappointed many huge tech corporations that have spent heavily in new entertainment forms. The metaverse hasn’t evolved as swiftly as Disney intended, making it an obvious target for these kinds of layoffs. Because it is a long-term bet, it is unclear whether Disney will continue to work on metaverse applications through other teams.
