Warren Questions Disney Buybacks, CEO Pay Before 28,000 Layoffs

  • Democratic senator says company ‘hanging workers out to dry’
  • Disney recently set plans to terminate 28,000 employees
Elizabeth WarrenPhotographer: Michael Short/Bloomberg
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Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Walt Disney Co. for laying off thousands of workers as a result of the pandemic, saying its spending on share buybacks and executive pay enriched bosses and investors but eroded its ability to weather a downturn.

“It appears that -- prior to, and during the pandemic -- Disney took good care of its top executives and shareholders -- and now is hanging its front-line workers out to dry,” Warren wrote Tuesday in a letter to Executive Chairman Bob Iger and Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek.