Returning Disney CEO Bob Iger has hosted a town hall meeting in which he kept the company’s hiring freeze in place, and shot down rumours of a possible merger with Apple.
Iger was reinstated as CEO last week, after the surprise ousting of Igor’s successor, Bob Chapek.
Disney shares fell to a two-and-a-half-year low on November 10 after the company reported a massive A$2.3 billion loss from its streaming division.
Before a brief bump after Iger’s return, shares had fallen 41 per cent this year alone, with Disney on track to deliver its worst single-year share price drop since the mid-1970s.
In the midst of all this, Iger told employees he will be keeping the hiring freeze Chapek implemented in place, while he sorts through the mess.
Iger was CEO of Disney from 2005 to 2020, during which time the entertainment giant acquired Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar, and launched Disney+.
According to CNBC, Iger opened the meeting by quoting Hamilton, telling staff: “There is no more status quo. But the sun comes up and the world still spins.”
Iger addressed the importance of stopping the bleeding at Disney+, saying he was “skeptical” about the future of TV, and that the streaming service must focus on boosting profitability and concentrate less on simply adding new subscribers.
He also called rumours of a Disney-Apple merger, “pure speculation”.
These rumours have risen periodically over the years, initially driven by Iger’s close friendship with Steve Jobs.
Until Jobs’ death in 2011, a merger between the two giants seemed likely. Now, with Iger’s return, these rumours have started again.
“He’s going to sell the company,” a Disney insider who claimed to have worked for Iger told The Wrap. “This is the pinnacle deal for the ultimate dealmaker.”
Of course, such a deal is unlikely to make it through regulator scrutiny without a few bruises.
