In an attempt to position the company for future growth, a significant number of jobs will be eliminated at the Walt Disney Company. Many of those jobs will likely be at the movie studio and may include marketing, production, and home entertainment positions.
This move comes several months after an internal audit was ordered by CEO Bob Iger and CFO Jay Rasulo in an effort to identify departments that needed to be reorganized to meet new business models. No one knows for certain the exact number of jobs that will be …

Disney is giving us our first look at what Shanghai Disneyland will look like.
Revealed at the company’s recent annual business meeting, the computer rendering shows a central landmark familiar to Disney fans — an Enchanted Storybook Castle. Water also features prominently in the picture, as previous plans indicated that it would.
“This is personally very special to me,” said Rober Iger, Disney’s president and CEO.  He reportedly has spent 15 years on the project.  ”It is authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese,” he said.
The theme park is scheduled to open by the …

A couple of weeks ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger was forced to respond to concerns about the “magic” wrist bands guests will use as part of Disney’s MyMagic+ program. One particular member of Congress, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass) sent a letter to Disney’s chief expressing concerns about the data gathered from the use of the bracelets and how this would adversely affect children.
While the company released a general statement to the press regarding the letter, Bob Iger wrote a somewhat scathing response back to Markey, making it very clear that …

Disney landed squarely in the hot seat yesterday, as the U.S. Congress demanded that the company answer questions regarding magic bands that guests will use in conjunction with My Magic+.
In a letter addressed to CEO Robert Iger, Edward Markey, (D- Mass) co-chairman of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, required that Disney provide information about the new bracelets, which implement RFID technology, no later than February 14.  Congressman Markey’s chief concerns centered around the privacy of guests and how information harvested from use of the bracelets would be put to use — …

Last month, Disney and Lucasfilm made the incredibly exciting announcement that Disney would soon be the official owner of Lucasfilm, which includes the legendary Star Wars franchise. On Friday, Disney announced that their acquisition of Lucasfilm is now officially complete.
The acquisition was done based on last Friday’s closing price of Disney stock market shares, which was $50. With that closing price, Disney’s acquisition of the company was valued at $4.06 billion, a slightly higher amount than the original $4 billion estimation that was announced in October.
In a statement, Disney CEO Bob …

The Walt Disney Co. have remained silent for years about their $1 billion “Next Generation Experience” technology project. Now, however, the media giant may be ready to reveal in-depth details about the project early next year.
During a conference call, Disney CEO Bob Iger said:
Because we’re in the testing phase to make sure the technology is working the way we both expect and need it to work, we’ve been hesitant to roll out more details to you, and to the public, for that matter. There has been a fair amount of …

The Walt Disney Company has announced its acquisition of George Lucas’  Film Production Company, Lucasfilm Ltd.  The deal is valued at approximately $4 billion.
Regarding the transaction, Disney Chairman and CEO Robert Iger made this statement:
Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas.  This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.
Lucasfilm Ltd is wholly owned …

Thanks to Blue Sky Disney, we found this thoroughly enjoyable conversation between Business Week and the Man at the Top himself.  Though a rather brief conversation, the interview takes place in context of touring the park, and touches on many of the current expansion moves underway within Disney.
Also interesting to note is the explanation of why Disney undertook such grand expansion during the economic downturn.  Readers will gain a little insight into Iger’s relationship with predecessor Michael Eisner as well.
Check out the full interview here.
Photo Source: Thomas Prior

After Disney reported a 24 percent increase in profits – the largest quarterly earnings in the company’s history – Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger has called for corporate tax changes, saying the United States should cut its corporate income tax rate.
Says Iger:
We pay a very high corporate tax rate as a company. We know that America is very high, among the highest in the world, if not the highest in terms of corporate tax rates. That’s something that I believe has to change. We’ve got to become …

Due to the amazing success of Marvel’s The Avengers as well as the recent addition of Cars Land to Disney’s California Adventure, The Walt Disney Co. have seen a 24% increase in quarterly profit – well ahead of company expectations.
Despite the crumbling economy, Disney continues to stay on top. Attendance at both Walt Disney World and Disney’s California Adventure were strong during the quarter, while Tokyo Disneyland has seen an increase in attendance as well now that they have recovered from last year’s earthquake. Additionally, The Avengers raked in $1.5 …