Roughly 300 Disney staffers have been let go in an ongoing round of job cuts, as the industry continues to grapple with a challenging marketplace.

This latest wave of layoffs targeted corporate-level legal, finance, communications and HR positions in the US. Divisions like Parks, ESPN and Disney Entertainment have not been affected this time, but around 140 positions at Disney Entertainment Television were axed in July, on the heels of 175 Pixar job cuts in May as part of a planned overhead reduction.)

“We continually evaluate ways to invest in our businesses and more effectively manage our resources and costs to fuel the state-of-the-art creativity and innovation that consumers value and expect from Disney,” a company spokesperson said. “As part of this ongoing optimization work, we have been reviewing the cost structure for our corporate-level functions and have determined there are ways for them to operate more efficiently.”

Earlier this week, fellow media giant Paramount Global implemented a second phase of layoffs outlined previously in a plan to trim 15% of its US workforce and hit US$500 million in cost savings. 

Disney’s own pursuit of profitability has also included a crackdown on Disney+ password sharing—a strategy that officially expanded this week with the introduction of a paid sharing program across the US and other regions. Last month, the company’s streaming biz had its first profitable quarter ever, and its Q3 operating income was up by 19% (to US$4.2 billion) compared to the same period in 2023.

Notably, Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (pictured) has contributed significantly to bolstering Disney’s performance so far this year. The CG-animated movie sequel earned a whopping US$1.6 billion at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 2024 and one of the top-10 highest-grossing films of all time.