Disney CEO: Company's future success requires big-budget animated sequels

Following rumors last month that Disney may be preparing for massive layoffs, CEO Bob Iger confirmed during an earnings call this week that the company plans to lay off 7,000 employees in response to "our current challenging economic environment." Laying off a large number of employees is one way to cut costs in the short term, but as Iger looks to the future, he also believes doubling down on the studio's large slate of film franchises and sequels is key to its continued growth.

At the conference, Iger insisted that this latest chapter in Disney's story would be defined by a structural transformation designed to "improve margins and returns and better position us for the disruption that's ahead." But the returning CEO also made it clear that a sharper focus on "even more focus on [Disney's] core brands and IP that have consistently delivered higher returns" is an important part of his vision for the studio.

"Since I came back, I've taken a deep dive into every aspect of the streaming business to determine how to achieve profitability and growth," Iger said at the meeting. "We will be aggressively curating our general entertainment content. We will reevaluate all of the markets where we have launched and determine the appropriate balance between global and domestic content."

In addition to taking these steps, Iger also announced that Disney is moving forward with plans for new Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia sequels, and while he didn’t offer any specific details about the new projects, he called them “great examples of how we can use our unparalleled brands and IP.”