Disney workers rebel against return to office mandate
Over 2,000 Disney employees have signed a petition addressed to CEO Bob Iger pushing him to walk back plans for a return to in-person work.
CFRA director, equity research Kenneth Leon and New Street Research managing partner Jonathan Chaplin debate whether Disney or rival Comcast is the better stock for investors to hold on 'The Claman Countdown.'
Disney employees are pushing back on the company's announcement that it will be returning to four days a week of in-person work.
More than 2,300 workers have signed a petition addressed to CEO Bob Iger urging the executive to abandon the planned return to offices, claiming it is "likely to have unintended consequences that cause long-term harm to the company."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 115.67 | +0.94 | +0.82% |
FLORIDA BILL REVOKING DISNEY'S SELF-GOVERNING STATUS HEADS TO DESANTIS' DESK
"This policy will slow, or even reverse, our post-COVID recovery and growth by creating critical resource shortages and causing irreplaceable institutional knowledge loss," the employee petition reads.
Robert Iger attends the Stella McCartney "Get Back" Capsule Collection and documentary release of Peter Jackson's "Get Back" at The Jim Henson Company on Nov. 18, 2021, in Los Angeles. (Rich Fury/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Iger’s original email announcing the return to pre-pandemic workspaces, obtained by FOX Business, informed Disney employees of the policy change going into effect March 1.
At that time, those "currently working in a hybrid fashion will be asked to spend four days a week on-site, targeting Monday through Thursday as in-person workdays," according to the email.
He pointed to the "tremendous value in being together with the people you work with" as he explained his reasoning for the change, noting he has been holding meetings with various teams across Disney since returning to the company.
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In this handout photo provided by Walt Disney World Resort, guests walk down Main Street, U.S.A. at Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort on July 11, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Kent Phillips/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney," Iger said in the email. "And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors."
Fox Business's Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.