A second day of layoffs has begun on the Fox lot in the wake of Disney completing its acquisition of 21st Century Fox on Wednesday.
Longtime 20th Century Fox Television Distribution president Mark Kaner is among the senior executives who were formally notified with severance details on Friday morning.
21st Century Fox’s international TV sales arm is among the divisions that has direct overlap with existing operations at Disney, so there is little surprise that Kaner’s group would be affected. Nonetheless, the atmosphere on the Fox lot is extremely somber given the longevity that many executives and their teams have enjoyed. Kaner had headed the division since 1994.
Layoff notices came on Thursday to dozens of staffers on the film side of the 20th Century Fox studio, including numerous executives at the president, executive VP and senior VP level. Large-scale layoffs were anticipated as part of the historic consolidation of two of Hollywood’s biggest and oldest studios. But the reality of it sank in hard on Thursday as executives and lower-level staffers watched the notification process unfold.
Related
On Friday morning, there was dread among 20th Century Fox TV and ABC Studios staffers of cuts to their ranks because the TV studio operations are duplicative. But as the day wore on there were no signs of a mass exodus. Dana Walden, chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment, issued a lengthy memo heralding the “palpable” excitement of the companies coming together.
“The combined companies represent a dream team of executives and staff, and we all share the same goal — to be the best by creating the best environment for our people and our extraordinary creative partners,” Walden wrote.
The cuts followed the formal closing of Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which took effect at 9:02 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
Staffers said they were bracing for a ” ‘Lord of the Flies’ situation,” in the words of a Fox TV veteran, as employees raised concern that the cuts may be a rolling process that come over a period of months. That prospect has employees worried about working in a highly agitated atmosphere for the near term. Disney chairman-CEO Bob Iger acknowledged the pain on the horizon for rank-and-file employees in a lengthy memo sent to Disney’s more than 200,000 employees on Tuesday night. In that note, Iger mentioned that the evaluation of the best structure and management hierarchy may take some time to sort through.
“Our integration process will be an evolution, with some businesses impacted more than others,” Iger wrote. “We’ve made many critical decisions already, but some areas still require further evaluation. We may not have answers to all of your questions at this moment but we understand how vital information is, and we’re committed to moving as quickly as possible to provide clarity regarding how your role may be impacted.”
Here is Walden’s full memo:
Day three, and the energy and excitement inside our newly merged organization is palpable! I’m so happy to be starting this journey with all of you. To say I’ve been looking forward to this week would be an enormous understatement, and I want to start by thanking you for the warmth thoughtfulness and goodwill many of you have already extended to your new colleagues.
Over the past few months, I have had the good fortune of getting to know some of you on the Disney side, and throughout my 26 years at Fox I’ve been lucky to work with many of you for decades. The combined companies represent a dream team of executives and staff, and we all share the same goal — to be the best by creating the best environment for our people and our extraordinary creative partners.
When you look across the Disney Television Studios, ABC Entertainment. the ABC Owned TV stations and Freeform, many of us have already worked together in the past. Our companies have a long history of teaming up to do spectacular things together. Look no further than multiple Emmy and Golden Globe winner Modern Family for an example of the extraordinary work that resulted when we joined forces. That happened when we were completely separate companies — just think about how much we can achieve now that we are united. There is no greater bonding experience than shared success, and I know that going forward we will have much to celebrate together.
I am genuinely thrilled to be embarking on this new chapter in my career with a stellar leadership team — Karey, Craig, Tom and Wendy –who understand that a winning business starts with a winning culture. The five of us realize that bringing our businesses together will require strategy and patience. Please know that we are all here for you and that we too are experiencing both the exhilaration and anxiety that accompany change.
Throughout my own transition to becoming a Disney employee, I have been thoroughly impressed with The Walt Disney Company’s Human Resources team. They are compassionate and highly skilled executives who are here to help us all through the integration. Each business unit has a dedicated HR business partner, with home you can be connected through your supervisor. They’ve produced this five-minute video that highlights how you can think about and embrace change. I hope everyone will take the time to watch it.
Finally, I am almost overwhelmed by the excitement I feel for our future. We are now positioned to win, big time, and I am grateful to Bob and Peter for giving me this opportunity. I am especially proud to be working with all of you.
Warmest regards,
Dana