According to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, Jeremy Doig, the chief technical officer of Walt Disney Co.’s streaming services, has left the firm, becoming the latest high-profile resignation as CEO Bob Iger prepares to restructure the world’s largest entertainment corporation.
Details about Disney’s technology chief resigns just days after the firm announced 7000 job layoffs
Doig joined Disney in March 2022 after working for Google for a long time and was in charge of technology for Disney, Hulu, and ESPN. Aaron LaBerge, who has been with Disney for a decade, will now oversee technology and product for the company’s media divisions.
“I have been informed that Jeremy Doig is no longer with the firm,” said Mike Hanley, senior vice president for engineering at Disney’s streaming division, in an email to colleagues. LaBerge will receive reports from Hanley. Disney representatives did not immediately reply to calls for comment. Doig did not respond quickly to mails seeking comment.
Doig’s departure comes only days after Iger revealed that Disney will lay off 7,000 people and create a new corporate structure that would return control of the streaming services to the company’s top creative leaders. The changes elevate the responsibilities of entertainment lieutenants Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN CEO Jimmy Pitaro, while removing influence from personnel such as Rebecca Campbell, director of international content and operations, and Michael Paull, previously the president of Disney streaming.
Disney has confirmed that Campbell will leave at the end of June, while Paull’s status is still being debated within the corporation. Bergman and Walden did not include Paull in their previous memo detailing their new structure. They followed up with a note emphasising that he would report to them. Paull will no longer be in charge of technology and product, which will instead be led by Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro. Paull joined Disney after it acquired BAMTech, a leader in video streaming technology.
Iger has basically dismantled Disney Media Entertainment & Distribution, a company established by his predecessor, Bob Chapek, to oversee the streaming services. DMED CEO Kareem Daniel, a top Chapek subordinate, left the company with the ex-CEO in November.
The most recent developments have left thousands of Disney employees unsure of their future at the firm and how their divisions will operate. Most staff have no idea how the job cuts would be distributed, however many believe that DMED and general entertainment employees will be impacted the hardest. While programming and marketing for the three main streaming services have been divided into two independent organisations, technological staff must continue to work on all three.
In his own memo to coworkers, also seen by Bloomberg, LaBerge stated that “the past 36 hours have been a frenzy of events” following Disney’s first-quarter results that exceeded expectations.
