Bob Iger has taken back control of Disney weeks after stepping down as CEO to lead the restructure of the company battered by the forced shutdown of its them parks and cruises.
In an email to The New York Times, Iger wrote: ‘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!’
Iger announced he was stepping down on February 25, with parks chairman Bob Chapek named his successor. But he has retaken the helm to navigate the coronavirus crisis which is estimated to be costing $30 million each day.
Iger, who last week said he’d sacrifice 100 percent of his $3 million salary, will furlough tens of thousands of staff across all sectors from April 19.
The 69-year-old who raked in $47.5 million last year, is looking to build on the tremendous success of Disney’s new streaming service as it postpones the release of forthcoming blockbusters like its Mulan remake.
Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Robert A Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey’s 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles
‘You know she does voice-overs?’ Prince Harry told Bob Iger at the Lion King film premiere last summer. He was touting the talent of his wife Meghan Markle as she embraced Beyonce Knowles
Dinsey + said last week it had more than 50 million subscribers around the world just five months after its launch after setting a target of 60 to 90 million by the end of fiscal 2024.
Seeking to harness that success, Iger indicated last week that the streaming service could have exclusive theatrical releases of titles which would have been due at the box office.
Iger out getting some exercise in Los Angeles last week with his wife Willow Bay, a former model, and their two sons Robert and William
The CEO also said that theme parks could take guests’ temperatures at the gates so that they can get back ‘to some semblance of normal, people will have to feel comfortable that they’re safe.’
According to the Times, Iger will hit pause on ‘expensive old-school television’ practices, like upfront advertising sales and making pilots for shows which might not make the final cut.
The company is understood be losing up to $30 million each day and has recently borrowed $6 billion to see it through the uncertain period. The closure of the parks is believed to have cost the company around $500million last month.
Disney Cruise Line – which operates four ships – announced Friday that all new departures of the Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Magic would be postponed until at least the end of May.
In addition, the Disney Wonder will not be sailing until at least July.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, (left to right) Walt Disney Co. Executive Chairman Bob Iger exercised with his oldest son Robert, his wife Willow Bay and his youngest son William in Los Angeles, California
Bob Iger (left) – who’s worth a reported $690million – and his wife Willow Bay (right) are seen above after it was announced he would give up the entirety of his $3million salary amid the coronavirus pandemic following a series of financial blows to Disney
Disney operates Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California as well as theme parks in China, Hong Kong, Japan and France.
All are currently closed to help reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The company has not said when they will re-open.
Walt Disney World, the most-visited theme park in the world, attracted 58.4 million visitors in 2018, according to the Themed Entertainment Association.
Iger said Disney is studying China’s efforts to let people return to everyday activities.
In China, ‘you can´t get on a bus or a subway or a train or enter a high-rise building there, and I´m sure this will be the case when their schools reopen, without having your temperature taken,’ Iger said to Barons.
Cinderella Castle is seen at the end of an empty Main Street at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park after it closed in an effort to combat the spread of coronavirus disease. The closures have led to cutbacks in the company but executives are being to push back on drops in salary
The Millennium Falcon spaceship sits amid empty streets at Empty Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. The company has been hit hard by park closures amid the coronavirus pandemic but executives are still unhappy about a paycut
‘So we’ve asked ourselves the question, let’s prepare for a world where our customers demand that we scrutinize everybody. Even if it creates a little bit of hardship, like it takes a little bit longer for people to get in.
‘Just as the case after 9/11 where people ultimately lived with the notion that in order for them to enter a building, if you’re in an office building you have to show a picture ID or get your picture taken and be screened. Or in order to enter a park you have to put your bags out there to be checked and you go through some kind of metal detector. Or certainly what’s going on in airports with the TSA.
‘I don’t think we’re ever going to see a return to business as usual in the sense that, I can’t speak for all companies, but Disney will take this opportunity to look for ways to run our businesses more efficiently when we come back.’