Pixar has been hit hardest in a wave of layoffs across Disney's studios, TV networks and ESPN, with several hundred jobs cut despite the animation studio's summer box-office success with "Toy Story 5". The cuts, confirmed by a Disney spokesperson on Tuesday, come as the company continues restructuring under new chief executive Josh D'Amaro, who has pushed to streamline operations across the business, and follow roughly 1,000 marketing job losses in April.

Within the studios division, most of the layoffs fall on Pixar, concentrated in production and operations, reflecting changes in the studio's production volume and current slate. Elsewhere, National Geographic bore the brunt of cuts within Disney's TV group, while ESPN also lost staff amid the integration of NFL Network operations. Pixar has released two films in 2026 – "Hoppers" and "Toy Story 5", the latter nearing $1 billion at the box office – though the studio has struggled since the pandemic to launch successful original properties, after several films were sent straight to Disney+ during Covid.