A recently laid-off Disney employee says the company’s internal culture has changed, and he claims Disney’s DEI push is not what it used to be.
Josh Daws, a software engineer who said he worked at Disney for 12.5 years, posted on X that he was let go as part of the latest round of layoffs. According to his profile and posts, Daws worked on various Disney blogs, ShopDisney, and most recently ESPN Fantasy Sports.
“I was just laid off from The Walt Disney Company after 12.5 years with the company. Ask me anything,” Daws posted.
What followed was a thread that touched on Disney’s internal culture, DEI, layoffs, remote work, Christians at the company, and even Star Wars.
Worth mentioning is that I’ve said similar things about Disney via my own insider contacts and friends that I have met at Comic-Con. They’re not all bad. A lot of them are conservatives, Catholics, pro-police, and supportive of the military. At the same time, I was recently at WonderCon in Anaheim, and there is definitely a subset of woke Disney employees who are completely out of touch with reality. That’s the real problem.
Was told it had a lot to do with the agendas of Disney and various corporations but of course, Feige is in charge and went with it. I've met people who work at Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm who are conservatives. Great people. One is really high up in Marvel and involved with all…
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) February 21, 2024
Josh Daws says Disney’s DEI push has declined
One of the bigger takeaways from the thread came when Daws was asked directly about Disney’s DEI infrastructure.
He replied, “Not a fan, but they’ve toned it down a ton since Trump was elected. The vibe shift is real.”
He echoed that sentiment again when another user asked how bad DEI is inside the company and if anything can be done to change course.
Daws responded, “Peaked in 2020 and has been in steady decline since then. It’s much better internally now. The vibe shift is real.”
That lines up with what many observers have been saying for a while, which is that Disney appears to have been quietly pulling back from its more aggressive internal activism following years of backlash from fans, investors, and the public, and of course, numerous failed projects.
Says only a “very small and vocal minority” drives the agenda
Daws also pushed back on the idea that the entire company is on board with left-wing messaging.
When one user asked, “Why do yuse guys hate conservative Christian’s and want to shove the LGBTQ agenda down our throats?”
Daws answered, “Very small and vocal minority of the company. Most folks just want to make cool stuff.”
Disney employee says mood has shifted internally
Daws was also asked more than once what he thinks about Disney’s future.
When asked, “What’s your opinion on the direction the company is heading? Positive or negative in general?”
Daws replied, “Cautiously optimistic.”
He said the same thing when asked if Disney can turn things around or if it will keep declining.
“Cautiously optimistic. I’m rooting for them. America needs a healthy Disney,” he answered.
In a follow-up, Daws added, “Can’t say much. Mood internally has shifted in what I consider a positive direction.”
So while he clearly has criticism of Disney’s past direction, he also seems to think the company may be trying to course-correct behind the scenes.
Comments on Christians, Star Wars, and “woke” Disney
The thread also got into religion and Disney’s broader workplace culture.
When asked how many Christians work at Disney, Daws responded, “Not enough but more than you might think.”
He also got asked what the “most woke thing” he ever saw at Disney was.
Daws answered, “I was in that ‘not-at-all-secret gay agenda’ all hands.”
That line will stand out to a lot of readers because it references one of the more infamous phrases tied to Disney’s culture war controversies.
On Star Wars, Daws dismissed the idea that Disney employees were intentionally trying to damage the brand.
When a user asked, “I am so sorry Josh. Question: was the effort to ruin Star Wars concious or not?”
Daws replied, “Nah. No one wants to make crap.”
Says layoffs may be tied in part to AI and remote work
Daws also touched on the reason behind the layoffs.
When asked if AI played a role, he said, “On the grand scale, probably to some degree. On the small scale it’s probably more to do with me being remote. Remote workers are easier to cut.”
That answer is interesting because it points to two issues a lot of companies are dealing with right now: cost-cutting tied to new AI tools and the ongoing pressure against remote workers. In its report, Forbese also said AI wasn’t a factor.
He also suggested leadership still has work to do.
When asked if the layoffs were the result of poor decisions by top executives, Daws said, “I think the new CEO needs to make some big moves to instill confidence in the market.”
