Details are starting to emerge about the first wave of Disney layoffs. It involves a consolidation of production operations across Disney TV Studios, Hulu, Freeform and FX under Carol Turner and the shutdown of the studio operation’s Creative Acquisitions department.Mark Levenstein, SVP Production for Hulu, and Jayne Bieber, SVP Production Management & Operations for Freeform, are leaving as Turner, EVP and Head of Production for ABC Signature, is taking on an expanded role, with Network and Platform production for scripted television across Disney Entertainment getting consolidated under her. 20th Television EVP and Head of Production Nissa Diederich, and Nick Lombardo, SVP and head of production for FX, will now to report to her.In her new role, Turner will report to Eric Schrier, Disney Television Studios & Global Original Television Strategy for Disney Entertainment.Additionally, Elizabeth Newman, VP of Development who was based at 20th Television while overseeing Creative Acquisitions for Disney Television Studios, is leaving and the department will be dissolved. Its functions will be absorbed by the studios.The Creative Acquisitions Department was launched in 2021 with the goal of identifying and securing the rights to upcoming and bestselling books, podcasts, news stories and other IP that can be developed by ABC Signature and 20th Television’s roster of showrunners, writers, directors and talent for ABC, Hulu, Freeform, FX, Disney+, NatGeo and other platforms.Newman originally co-ran the unit with Jordan Moblo who soon left to join Netflix and subsequently Universal Studios Group.Former CAA TV lit agent Newman joined Fox 21 Television Studios at the end of 2019 as VP, Development at Touchstone Television, where she worked on projects including Hulu’s Dopesick.Levenstein has been in Hulu’s head of production post since 2019. Before that, he did stints as SVP Production at Paramount Pictures and VP Production at HBO.Bieber is a 14-year Disney veteran who started as a producer at the Disney Channel before becoming VP and subsequently SVP Production Management and Operations for Freeform.Production has been one of the areas frequently targeted for consolidation, with a number of TV companies combining operations across multiple divisions in the past couple of years.Disney CEO Bob Iger this morning confirmed that the first of three rounds of layoffs is starting this week as the company looks to reduce its workforce by about 7,000 employees.The second, and biggest one, is slated for April when Disney’s TV operations are expected to get hard hit. The third and final round of notifications is expected before the beginning of the summer.
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