Disney’s chief legal officer has warned of “hard choices” and a “much smaller organization” as the company prepares for another round of job cuts. Horacio Gutierrez, the company’s Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer, sent a memo to his department on Sept. 18 that suggests layoffs are imminent.
The message, dispatched at midday to the LGA department, which has fewer than 1,000 staff worldwide, cautions that automation and outsourcing will change how the legal team operates. Numerous workers are already preparing for cuts expected to start as soon as next week.
The Memo From Gutierrez
Gutierrez joined Disney from Spotify in late 2021 under Bob Chapek’s short-lived reign as CEO. He replaced Disney veteran Alan Braverman in the top in-house legal job, and was one of few key Chapek lieutenants to keep his job when Bob Iger returned as CEO in late 2022.
Gutierrez states in the memo that the company’s “legal, government relations, operations, and others, are going through their own reinvention as technology reshapes how work gets done, and the operating models that underpin those professions.”. He says he is “taking a dispassionate look at every aspect of how we do our work, so we can do it in a more efficient and cost-effective manner.”.
The memo directly addresses the staffing question. “Obviously, this will require hard choices about where and how we deploy our resources and investments, including our staffing investments and how we work will look different in the months and years ahead,” Gutierrez writes.
He notes that “LGA will be a much smaller organization than it is today, and some of you will personally be affected by decisions we make in this process.”, and he lists several ways the department could change: “automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies, moving to self-service models where appropriate, engaging alternative legal providers and others, and new expanded share services, even outsourcing.”.
“When teams work smarter, Disney can serve more fans at lower costs, freeing up capital to reinvest in the content, guest experiences, and technology infrastructure that keep the company out in front.”
Gutierrez also invoked Disney boss Josh D’Amaro’s vision. “Josh’s vision is of a Disney that succeeds in a changing market by breaking internal walls and embracing technology to amplify what makes it great, not by clinging to the way things always have been done,” he wrote.
The Deadline For Retirement Offers
As the deadline approached for longtime Disney executives to qualify for the company’s voluntary early retirement offer, a memo arrived. EVP and Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman had unveiled the offer in August.
Involuntary layoffs were always expected to follow the process, and executives made no secret of it on the Aug. 5 earnings call, where they confirmed that more were yet to come.
What Employees Are Reading Into It
Among the Disney workforce, a memo is making its way through the ranks, and many workers fear that the harsh message aimed at LGA staff could apply to them as well. That same memo has been passed around widely within the entertainment law community, across Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.
The reporting states that separate reductions inside the LGA office have no link to the next series of cuts.
The Automation Warning
The message from Gutierrez makes technology the clear force behind the shift. He lays out a framework that involves “automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies.”, which he describes as part of a “transformation process”.
The document makes no claim that AI is seizing control. It offers no confirmation that job cuts are coming soon. Yet the wording is plain to see. Gutierrez is informing his team that the business will contract and that a number of them will be laid off.
Other choices are laid out in the memo as well, including these: “moving to self-service models where appropriate, engaging alternative legal providers and others, and new expanded share services, even outsourcing.”
The Karandeep Anand Appointment
The memo landed on the same day Disney unveiled Karandeep Anand as the company’s very first Chief Technology Officer. The ex-Character.AI CEO will report directly to Disney boss Josh D’Amaro.
What Comes Next
Deadline reached out to Disney on Thursday for comment on Gutierrez’s memo and the timeline and scope of the upcoming job cuts, but the company has not responded with any statement.
No official statement has been made about the scale of the job cuts or which divisions will be impacted. The document only confirms that LGA will be “a much smaller organization than it is today,” without giving any figures.
The Bottom Line
Gutierrez’s memo is not a threat letter. It is a warning to his staff. The message is that the company will be reduced in size, that some employees will be laid off, and that these changes will take place quickly.
Disney employees are sharing the memo among themselves, and many of them now fear that the harsh warning aimed at LGA workers could apply to them as well.
No official confirmation has come from the company regarding the scale of the cuts. The memo states that LGA will be “a much smaller organization than it is today,” yet it fails to provide any figures.
A fresh wave of job cuts is on the way at Disney, and the memo from Gutierrez serves as the clearest warning yet that these reductions will reshape the company for years to come.
Source material: “Disney Legal Chief Warns Of “Hard Choices” & “Much Smaller Organization” Coming As Company Layoffs Loom,” Deadline.
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