Robert Iger is shaking things up after returning to Disney as CEO. In addition to staff changes and restructuring of some key departments, he recently issued an internal memo stating that hybrid workers must return to Disney corporate for at least four days a week beginning March 1.
Yahoo Finance reports Iger wrote that he’d “been meeting with teams throughout the Company over the past few months.” During that time, Iger said he’d “been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with.” The memo continued:
“As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors,” the memo continued. “It is my belief that working together more in-person will benefit the Company’s creativity, culture, and our employees’ careers.”
Iger has been chipping away at changes made by predecessor Bob Chapek. He revamped Chapek’s pet project, the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED) division and has signaled disapproval of Chapek raising prices at Disney World and Disneyland.
In his email about returning to the office, Iger ended on a positive note, writing: “As we embark on a new year, Disney’s historic 100th anniversary, and all the opportunities before us, we have so many reasons to be excited about the future. Certainly, this is a moment of tremendous change – for our Company, for our industry, and for the global economy – but despite the challenges, at my core I remain an optimist.”
