With many of its live entertainment shows gone dark because of the coronavirus, Walt Disney World on Wednesday laid off 720 actors and singers, according Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing the performers.
Only 60 Equity performers are working or returning to work at the Orlando, Florida-based theme park resort, the union said in a statement.
The performer layoffs were part of The Walt Disney Co.’s plans to eliminate 28,000 jobs in its parks division in California and Florida because of restrictions and costs from the pandemic. Two-thirds of the planned layoffs involve part-time workers.