Disney offering early retirement packages to veteran executives

Disney offering early retirement packages to veteran executives

Tue, August 25, 2026 at 4:15 PM GMT+3 2 min read

• DIS -0.25%

Disney announced a Voluntary Early Retirement Offer for longtime executives on Monday, adding the program to a broader cost-reduction effort that has already included multiple rounds of involuntary layoffs this year.

Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman outlined the program in a memo sent to employees ranked director and above. Under the VERO banner, qualifying executives can choose to exit the company immediately in exchange for an enhanced retirement package. "This is one of several actions we're taking to reshape our organization, including involuntary staff reductions that have already begun in some areas and will continue into next year," Coleman wrote.

Eligible executives must be U.S.-based and hold a rank between director and EVP within Disney Entertainment, ESPN, or corporate divisions; they must also have reached at least 50 years of age, logged a minimum of 10 years with the company, and accumulated at least 65 points, a figure derived by adding age to years of service. Executives working outside the U.S. on a temporary assignment through Disney's international staffing entity are also eligible. Employees on contract do not qualify, which excludes most high-level Disney executives.

The package includes separation pay of up to one year based on tenure and level, healthcare coverage at employee rates for the duration of the severance period, and continued vesting of existing equity awards for three years. Participants will also receive lifetime Silver Pass access to Disney theme parks outside of blackout dates — a benefit previously available only to Disney retirees. The offer carries no non-compete clause or restrictions on future employment, meaning executives who accept can keep their separation pay even if they take a new job during the severance period.

Coleman stressed that participation is voluntary and that eligible executives will have a defined election window followed by a confirmation period, though the length of that window was not disclosed.

The announcement comes as Disney's new CEO Josh D'Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston told investors on an August 5 earnings call that further cost reductions are underway. Disney cut roughly 1,000 jobs in April, targeting marketing and other corporate functions, and then eliminated several hundred additional positions in July, with Pixar, National Geographic, and ESPN among the most affected divisions.

According to Deadline, this is the first early-retirement program Disney has offered in recent memory. The company previously offered voluntary buyouts as part of a sweeping 4,000-job reduction in 2001 and again in 2009, when it extended packages to more than 600 executives in its U.S. theme parks unit.