California Filing Puts a Number on Disney's Parks Layoffs: 159 Jobs at Imagineering's Glendale Headquarters, Effective December 29

Earlier this week, the figure reported for Disney's latest parks-division job cuts was a range of 100 to 200 people, which the Los Angeles Times attributed to a single unnamed person familiar with the matter. A California filing now gives an exact count for one location: 159 jobs.

California's Employment Development Department lists a layoff notice from Walt Disney Parks & Resorts US, Inc. covering 159 employees at 1401 Flower Street in Glendale, the headquarters of Walt Disney Imagineering. The state's WARN report records it as a permanent layoff, with a notice date of October 27, 2026 and an effective date of December 29, 2026. WDWMagic reported the filing on Friday.

File photo: the main doors of Walt Disney Imagineering's Glendale headquarters, 1401 Flower Street, the address listed on the layoff notice. Photo: WDWMAGIC

What the filing says, and what it doesn't

The notice is filed under the parks company's name and lists an address, not a team. It does not say which jobs are going or what the affected employees work on. Because 1401 Flower Street is Imagineering's headquarters, WDWMagic reads the 159 as Imagineering's share of the cuts: "With 159 positions at the Glendale site alone, Imagineering accounts for most of that total."

The two-month gap between the notice and the effective date reflects state law. Under California's WARN Act, a mass layoff needs a minimum of 60 days' advance notice, and October 27 to December 29 is 63 days. According to WDWMagic, employees learned of the cuts on Wednesday, October 28, so the layoffs take effect at the end of December even though the news broke this week.

What it means for Walt Disney World

No Walt Disney World project has been publicly linked to these cuts. Imagineering is the arm of Disney that creates its parks, attractions and resorts, including the Florida projects now underway. In a Laughing Place piece on Wednesday, Dirk Libbey wrote of understanding that domestically focused Imagineers in both Orlando and Glendale were also affected, without saying which projects they worked on. A California notice covers California sites, so the 159 would not count any Florida-based staff. WDWMagic wrote: "We also don't know yet if any Walt Disney World projects are affected." Disney has not identified any projects that will change.

WDWMagic also notes that Imagineering's headcount has historically risen and fallen with its project workload, and that its sources said earlier in the week that teams working on Shanghai Disney Resort were among those affected.

File photo: street signs at Flower Street and Davis Avenue in Glendale, from WDWMagic's Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters gallery. Photo: WDWMAGIC

Where this fits

We covered the first reports on Thursday, in Disney's theme parks division is laying off 100 to 200 people. According to the Times' source, the cuts stem from a routine assessment of the division's priorities, where it invests and when its projects are scheduled. The Times also reported that this round is not related to earlier cuts to Disney's human resources and technology teams. Separately, the Times reported that Disney offered older workers early retirement packages earlier this month.

We will update this story if Disney or the reporting ties any of these cuts to a Walt Disney World project.

Sources

• California Employment Development Department, WARN Report
• WDWMagic, Walt Disney Imagineering Layoffs Hit 159 Employees at Glendale Headquarters
• Los Angeles Times, Disney's theme parks division lays off at least 100 employees
• Laughing Place, Layoffs Reportedly Hit Disney Experiences, Including Imagineering

Image credits: WDWMAGIC (Imagineering entrance, Flower Street sign).