After postponing his retirement four times since 2013, former Disney CEO Robert Iger finally decided to step down from his post this past February, fully anticipating a smooth transition from CEO to executive chairman as he gradually passed the torch to his successor Robert Chapek.
However, things didn't quite go according to plan, as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the globe and effectively shut down the world indefinitely.
With the pandemic not expected to subside anytime in the near future, Disney has been among the biggest, if not the biggest, media corporation to be devastated by the public health crisis and subsequent economic shutdown, delaying multiple theatrical releases and closing all film & TV productions, theme parks, cruises and more for the foreseeable future.
As the summer swiftly approaches and the bubble of uncertainty seemingly expanding by the minute, The New York Times has confirmed this week that the House of Mouse has turned back to the beloved Iger for guidance through this most troubling of times, and Iger himself has since confirmed that he is indeed back to the running the ship.
Despite his hopes to leave the company on top, especially after the year he just had, Iger realized quickly that the vast scope of this global emergency would require a more steadied hand to lead the way. He tells NYT, “A crisis of this magnitude, and its impact on Disney, would necessarily result in my actively helping Bob [Chapek] and the company contend with it, particularly since I ran the company for 15 years!”
Disney is reportedly in dire straits at the moment, and as of April 19, will have already furloughed an estimated 73,000 employees out of their total employee count of 223,000. That figure is also expected to increase in the coming weeks.
Along with reassuming his previous responsibilities, Iger will also begin to focus on Disney post-pandemic, determining what it will look like and how it may operate moving forward. He's already had discussions about ending a variety of expensive television practices, including advertising upfronts and producing pilots for shows that may not air, and has also had talks about potentially reopening with less office space and fewer employees.