Apr 16, 2026
While not executed with the quite dramatic flare of Thanos snapping his fingers, Disney made most of its Marvel Studios staff disappear in one fell swoop this week. No Infinity Gauntlet required.
Rather, Disney (NYSE:DIS), the parent company of Marvel, announced layoffs of 1,000 members of the comic property's staff in both New York and California. This reportedly includes the artists, designers and other creatives who brought the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to life on the big and small screens (1).
Advertisement
One concept artist and illustrator, Wesley Burt, shared the news of his layoff on X, where he wrote "The irony of having a one-on-one HR layoff meeting in the conference room with my Loki mural on it," accompanied by an eye-catching, floor-to-ceiling image of Tom Hiddleston as Loki on the conference room wall (2).
Burt's IMDB page notes that he worked on MCU films like Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame and The Fantastic Four: First Steps and has won three Art Directors Guild awards for excellence in production design (3).
Moneywise reached out to him for comment but did not hear back by press time.
The Endgame for Marvel Studios
The Associated Press reported (4) that a memo sent to employees by new Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over the top job in February, cited the company's desire to "streamline our operations in various parts of the company," which "requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce."
To that end, Disney plans to hire artists for individual Marvel projects going forward, with a small in-house staff to manage that process (5).
Meanwhile, a Forbes investigation from last September found that Disney had lost an average of $619 million per Marvel film between 2023 and 2025 (6).
Last May, during an investor's call (7), former Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged the company's "zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content," including Marvel content, learning as a result "that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we've all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much."
During the call, he added that he believed that the company's fortunes would soon change with the release of the Thunderbolts* film, which he felt "very good about." Thunderbolts* wound up grossing just over $382 million globally, the lowest MCU box office since The Marvels in 2023 and fifth lowest overall in nearly 20 years (8).
Advertisement
Disney previously cut 7,000 jobs — or just over 3% of its workforce — in 2023, saving $5.5 billion (9).
This week, in addition to the Marvel cuts, Disney also slashed 30 jobs at ESPN, of which it retains majority ownership (10).
Must Read
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — are you doing the same?
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this ‘explosion’
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
Wakanda is forever, but studio jobs aren't
The Disney layoffs continue a trend of wider job losses at major studios and streamers, with many already taking place this year.
Sony Pictures announced layoffs this month, letting "hundreds of employees" go in what CEO Ravi Ahuja described as a "reorienting to thrive in a changing industry" that reportedly includes more of a focus on major game show franchises like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (11).
Netflix cut "several dozen" staff in March (12), while Amazon cut 16,000 jobs in January — including from Prime Video (13).
But perhaps the most dreaded cuts are set to come courtesy of Paramount, once it completes its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery (14) (WBD). The studio already cut 1,000 jobs last October in what CEO David Ellison described as "phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth (15)."
Once the WBD acquisition is complete, however, significant layoffs are expected in what Variety anticipates will be "a bloodbath of layoffs and a senior management 'Game of Thrones' environment as the new regime decides who stays and who goes" within the various film, television and streaming propertie`s owned by the two companies (16).
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Deadline (1),(5),(12); X (2); IMDb (3); Associated Press (4); Forbes (6); Variety (7),(9),(16); The Numbers (8); Yahoo Sports (10); The Hollywood Reporter (11); Yahoo News (13); Paramount (14); NBC News (15)
You May Also Like
- Turning 50 with $0 saved for retirement? Most people don’t realize they’re actually just entering their prime earning decade. Here are 6 ways to catch up fast
- Inside a $1B real estate fund offering access to thousands of income-producing rental properties — with flexible minimums starting at $10
- Vanguard’s outlook on U.S. stocks is raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
- Here are 5 easy ways to own multiple properties like Bezos and Beyoncé. You can start with $10 (and no, you don’t have to manage a single thing)
Mike Crisolago is a Staff Reporter at Moneywise with more than 15 years of experience in the journalism industry as a writer, editor, content strategist and podcast host. His work has appeared in various Canadian print and digital publications including Zoomer magazine, Quill & Quire and Canadian Family, among others. He’s also served as a mentor to students in Centennial College’s journalism program.
