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Disney offers early retirement packages to long-time executives amid cost cutting efforts and continued layoffs.
Sonia Coleman, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, sent a memo on Monday to all employees stating that the company’s Voluntary Early Retire Offer (VERO), a time-limited program, would allow eligible executives to take early retirement with perks to “recognize their contributions and service.”
This offer includes separation pay, the continuation of equity awards already granted, health care at rates applicable to active employees, and access to Disney theme parks with Silver Pass.
Coleman’s letter stated, “We understand that retiring from the business is a very personal choice.” We want to give those receiving this offer the time and information they need to make an informed decision.
This offer is available for U.S. employees who are at director or EVP level within Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Corporate divisions. They must have a minimum of age 50, at least 10 years service, and 65 points. The early retirement offer is not available to employees on a contract.
Disney’s CEO Josh D’Amaro, and his CFO Hugh Johnston informed analysts on an earnings call earlier this month that more cost-saving measures and layoffs would be implemented following the rounds of reductions in April and in July. Disney executives said that the company’s goal was to invest more in the areas with the greatest potential for growth, such as content, technology and experiences.
Below is the full text of Coleman’s email, sent to all staffers with a “director” rank or above.
Dear Leaders,
We’ve been making real changes in how we work for the last few years and are still doing so. We’re focusing on reducing our costs, as you may have heard in our recent earnings call. This will allow us to continue investing in areas which are key for our growth, such as content, technology and experiences. After evaluating several options, the next step is to introduce a Voluntary Early Retire Offer (VERO). This will be available for certain executives.
Before the launch of this program, I wanted to tell you about it directly. VERO, a company-sponsored time-limited program, will allow eligible executives to retire with a retirement package that is enhanced and recognizes service. We are taking several steps to transform our company, which includes involuntary reductions of staff that began in certain areas already and will continue next year.
We hope that by offering a voluntary program for retirement, eligible employees will have the opportunity to take a decision on their terms prior to any broader organization decisions being made.
The criteria used to determine eligibility have been established. * Eligible individuals will be contacted separately and personally with information about the offer.
You may be asked questions by your team or other leaders after the announcement of the program. We ask you to direct all detailed questions regarding the program, so that everyone eligible gets accurate information.
This program was designed with several key principles in mind:
The offer is completely optional. The offer is not mandatory for any eligible executives.
Recognizing years of service – The package is enhanced to include Separation Pay and the continued vesting equity awards. It also includes healthcare at rates for active employees, as well as continued Silver Pass.
It’s time to take an informed decision. Eligible executive will be given a set election period followed by a confirmatory period. This allows them to carefully consider their options.
Support throughout the entire process — A dedicated team of support staff will answer all questions, and provide comprehensive materials to help leaders who qualify understand the program.
Retirement from a company is an important personal choice. Our goal for those receiving this opportunity is to provide them with the time and information they need to make an informed decision.
As you manage this information, we are also conscious of the demands that you have to make. We appreciate your leadership and commitment as we move forward together in this new chapter.
Sonia

Exclusive: Disney offers early retirement to longtime employees as part of its cost-reduction initiatives. In an internal memo, Disney’s EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Sonia Coleman announced the Voluntary Early Retire Offer (VERO), an employer-sponsored, time-limited program. “This will give eligible executives an opportunity to retire with a retirement package that acknowledges their contributions and service.”
Disney’s CEO Josh D’Amaro, CFO Hugh Johnston and other executives have told investors that there will be more layoffs.
Coleman’s memo below explains that this is just one of many actions being taken to shape our organization. Involuntary reductions in staff have begun and will continue next year.
The VEROs is a variant of voluntary buyouts that takes age into account. The VEROs are a variation of voluntary buyouts, where age is a factor. This includes executives who work in the U.S. at Director to EVP levels across Disney Entertainment and ESPN as well as Corporate, including those on temporary assignments outside of the U.S. through DIESI. They must also meet the 65-point threshold, which can be calculated by adding their age with the years of service at Disney. This offer is not available to contract employees, so most of the high-level Disney executives are not eligible.
Early retirement packages include separation pay up to one year depending on the tenure and position. The departing executive will have access to employee-rate healthcare for the duration of their severance package.
This package allows for continued vesting equity awards over the next three-year period, which Disney employees do not get to retain when leaving Disney. This offer also includes a perk reserved for Disney retirees after leaving the company: Silver Pass for Life, which allows free admission to Disney theme parks on any day, even if blackout dates are in effect.
The acceptance of the offer for early retirement does not prevent those who accept it from finding a new position. The separation payment does not contain a restriction on employment in the future. Those who are hired after or during their severance pay period can keep it. They are required to change their health insurance if they were still covered by Disney at the time they joined another company.
The length of the “defined election window” for eligible executives is not known. This will be followed by a period to confirm their participation. Coleman made it clear that participation is optional and no eligible executive has to accept the offer.
Nevertheless, with the new Disney CEO D’Amaro’s initiative to streamline operations expected to continue, qualified executives may be tempted to accept VERO if their jobs are in danger. Involuntary reductions of staff are always more expensive than voluntary buyouts.
Coleman’s memo noted the VEROs as well as the planned layoffs were part of a plan to “meaningfully reduce costs in our ongoing transformation”, referencing Disney’s latest earnings call on August 5.
D’Amaro and Johnson wrote in their letter of August 5 to shareholders that they “remain highly focused on reducing cost across the enterprise in order to create incremental capability to invest for future growth and we are evaluating a number of levers including reductions to labor and SG&A (Selling General & Administrative expenses)” and added, “We’re midstream in this process and will give you updates in the near future on our progress.”
Johnson reaffirmed the statement on his earnings call that same day.
Disney eliminated hundreds of positions in July, after D’Amaro announced layoffs in April that affected up to 1,000 workers. Pixar, National Geographic, and Disney’s Animation division were the most affected.
This is the first time in recent history that an early retirement package has been offered. Over the last 25 years, there have been two voluntary buyouts. Disney’s massive 4,000-job reduction in March 2001 was achieved through voluntary buyouts combined with subsequent layoffs. The company provided voluntary buyouts to over 600 employees at its U.S. unit of theme parks in 2009.
Coleman’s Email:
Dear Leaders,
We’ve been making real changes in how we work for the last few years and are still doing so. We’ve been focusing on reducing our costs, as you may have heard in our recent earnings call. This is part of our ongoing transformative process, which will allow us to continue investing in areas such as content, technology and experiences that are key drivers for our growth. After evaluating several options, the next step is to introduce a Voluntary Early Retire Offer (VERO). This will be available for certain executives.
Before the launch of this program, I would like to speak directly with you about it.
The VERO program is a limited-time, sponsored by the company. It will allow eligible senior executives to retire with a retirement package enhanced that acknowledges and rewards their contributions. We are taking several steps to transform our company, which includes involuntary reductions of staff that began in certain areas already and will continue next year.
We hope that by offering a voluntary program for retirement, eligible employees will have the opportunity to take a decision in their own right before any broader decisions about an organization are made.
The criteria used to determine eligibility have been established. * Eligible individuals will be contacted separately and personally with information about the offers, election processes, key dates, available resources, etc.
You may be asked questions by your team or other leaders after the announcement of the program. We ask you to direct all detailed questions regarding the program, so that everyone eligible gets accurate information.
This program was designed with several key principles in mind:
The offer is completely optional. The offer is not mandatory for any eligible executives.
Recognizing years of service – The package is enhanced to include Separation Pay and the continued vesting equity awards. It also includes healthcare at rates for active employees, as well as continued Silver Pass.
It’s time to take an informed decision. Eligible executive will be given a specific election period followed by a confirmatory period. This allows them to carefully consider their options.
Support throughout the entire process – A dedicated team of support staff will answer all questions, and provide comprehensive materials to help leaders who qualify understand the program.
Retirement from the organization is an important personal choice. Our goal for those receiving this opportunity is to provide them with the time and information they need to make a decision that’s right for themselves.
As you manage this information, we are also conscious of the demands that you have to make. We appreciate your leadership and commitment as we move forward together in this new chapter.
Sonia

NEW YORK, NY (AP) – U.S. stock prices are moving in the wrong direction Monday as a series of potentially market-moving event is set to take place this week. The Treasury Department’s efforts to cool down certain areas of the U.S. bond market have eased.
S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and moved further away from the all-time record set in this month. As of 1:42 pm Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 59 points or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%.
Tech stocks led the way downward following big swings through the summer on worries that the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology sent prices too high and that the huge demand for AI chips won’t be sustainable if they don’t produce enough profits.
Nvidia, the chip giant that dominates Wall Street today is a huge winner in this AI boom. It has become Wall Street’s most important and influential stock. On Wednesday it will release its most recent quarterly earnings report, which may determine the direction of AI stocks.
Nvidia fell 2.3%, and was the largest weight in the S&P 500 where most stocks grew. Micron Technology’s 6% drop and Broadcom’s 2% fall also contributed to the decline.
Bond yields have also been a major factor in recent stock market movements. They grew through the summer due to concerns about inflation and government debt. The high yields are making borrowing more expensive, for all borrowers, not only the government. They have also been driving up mortgage rates, hurting the housing market.
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department made a surprising announcement to expand the planned Treasury buybacks. This could be a way of containing the increase in the yields on 10-year and 30-year Treasurys. Analysts warned that the action may only have a small impact due to the fact that the amount of buybacks is so low and they don’t fix fundamental issues such as the U.S. Government having too much debt and the high oil prices resulting from the conflict with Iran.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell to 4.70 % from 4.74% at the end of Friday. It is now back where it was in late February, just before the surprise announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The drop in crude oil prices on Monday helped to lower yields. Brent crude dropped 2.3%, to $90.55 a barrel.
It fluctuated between $72 to $102 last month as the hopes of a possible deal with Iran and the United States rose and then fell. This would have allowed oil tankers the freedom to leave the Persian Gulf. The value of the Iranian currency was at a record low despite the United States imposing new sanctions against Iran.
Analysts warn that despite Monday’s lower yields, the U.S. Government’s efforts to influence the market for bonds could lead to higher inflation pressures. The inflation rate is already higher than most people would prefer and has been so for many years.
This puts pressure on the Federal Reserve, who is responsible for overnight short-term loans. The Fed could keep inflation under control by raising the federal funds rate and lowering the prices of stocks, bonds and other investments.
Kevin Warsh will deliver an address at a Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday. Investors are uncertain about what Warsh will say this time.
Warsh insists that he does not want to provide financial markets with any clues as to how the Fed intends to set interest rates. He hopes that the markets will react to the latest data on the economy and inflation rather than what the Fed signals.
Bank of America economists say that since Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury secretary, announced his decision last week, Warsh is now in charge. Investors expect Warsh to speak about inflation, including how the Fed might react. If he fails to do so, bond yields could jump, according to economists at Bank of America.
Indexes fell in stock markets around the globe. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 3.1% and Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 1.9%.
Seoul is home to the sharpest swings in the world this summer, thanks to two titans of tech benefiting from AI’s boom: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
___
This report was written by AP Business writers Michelle Chapman, Elaine Kurtenbach and Elaine Kurtenbach.

Sapporo USA plans to cut 220 jobs at Stone Brewing’s three locations in Escondido in California as the production shifts elsewhere in California or Missouri.
According to the Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Letters filed with Sapporo by the state, layoffs of 58 employees will start on October 19.
FOX Business reached out to Sapporo USA to confirm the number of affected employees and to get a comment.
Sapporo has cut its workforce following the sale of Stone Brewing and selected hospitality venues to Firestone Walker Brewing Company, and Duvel Moortgat USA. This transaction closed on May 15, after being announced in April.
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The deal will see Stone Beer production move from Escondido, California to Firestone Walker’s Paso Robles brewery and Duvel USA’s Boulevard brewery, located in Kansas City.
Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Liberty Station, San Diego was included in the acquisition, as were taprooms located in Little Italy and Oceanside, Pasadena, Oceanside, and Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Liberty Station. The transaction did not include Stone’s Escondido bistro and brewery.
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Sapporo announced the agreement and said that it would produce Stone beer in its Escondido, California, and Richmond, Virginia breweries for a period of transition. The company also stated that it will continue to operate the Escondido Bistro, while considering “long-term strategies” for this site.
Sapporo USA’s CEO Zach Keeling said to the Los Angeles Times the company will now phase out the Escondido Brewery in stages after it failed to find “a viable long-term solution”.
Keeling, in an interview with the newspaper, said: “We understand that this is a difficult transition for both our Escondido community and employees. We are committed to helping them get through it.”
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Firestone Walker announced in April they would offer jobs in sales, marketing and hospitality to many Stone employees. Production roles will be evaluated when brewing shifts to other locations.
Stone Brewing, founded in Southern California back in 1996, is one of the most well-known craft beer brands on the West Coast. Sapporo purchased the brewery in 2022, before selling its Stone brand to focus its U.S. efforts on the beer of the same name.
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