The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) returning chief executive officer, Bob Iger has told employees he will not remove his predecessor's hiring freeze as he reassesses the entertainment giant's cost structure, CNBC has said.
During his first town hall since returning to the company on Monday, the newsite reported that Iger said: “It felt like it was a wise thing to do in terms of the challenges, and at the moment, I don’t have any plans to change it."
In a memo earlier this month, previous Disney CEO Bob Chapek - who Disney abruptly announced last week would be replaced by Iger - had announced plans for a hiring freeze, layoffs and cost cuts.
READ: Bob Iger back at Disney as chief executive
Chapek, who had been in the job for less than three years, had seen Disney face criticism for its treatment of employees and its decision to take away budgetary power from creative heads.
Iger told staffers at the town hall on Monday that it was “an easy yes” to return to the job. He said it was the right thing for him to do because of his love for Disney and its employees.
Several senior executives recently told board members they had lost confidence in Chapek’s leadership, CNBC reported last week, prompting the company’s outreach to Iger, who previously served as Disney’s CEO for 15 years.
In Monday's town hall, CNBC said Iger acknowledged Disney’s focus must shift toward making its streaming business profitable rather than concentrating on simply adding subscribers, which was the company’s priority when he gave up the CEO job in 2020. He noted Disney will not be pursuing any major acquisitions in the near future, adding he is comfortable with Disney’s current set of assets.
In a memo last week, Iger said one of his first actions will be to redo Disney’s organizational structure, which under Chapek centralized decision-making over content and distribution was centralized under Kareem Daniel. Iger has already fired Daniel and said at the town hall a new structure will take time to put in place.
Toward the end of his town hall remarks, Iger noted that he would not have come back if he did not believe Disney’s future is bright, CNBC said.
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