Disney heir Abigail Disney, daughter of Roy Disney and great-niece of Walt, has called out her namesake corporation's skewed financial priorities during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, many companies have experienced varying degrees of financial impact. Some have been forced to furlough workers. Even Disney, one of the biggest and wealthiest companies on the planet, has chosen to temporarily lay off its ground-level employees for the foreseeable future.
Affected workers include staffers at studios like Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel, but the vast majority of impacted employees are from Disney's lucrative theme parks and resorts, which are currently closed down entirely. Furloughed employees will still receive health benefits (at least, those who qualify for them already), but will go without pay until the company decides otherwise. The furloughs are expected to save the company roughly $500 million per month, but executive-level bonuses at Disney are currently unaffected, leaving some wondering why the company is forcing its low-level employees to seek federal assistanc, when Disney itself has roughly $20 billion in liquidity to keep its workers fed and sheltered.
One person with a bone to pick with these financial arrangements is Abigail Disney, one of the more high-profile Disney heirs. Though she does not hold any official position at the company, her last name arguably means more to Disney's legion of fans than any executive title ever could. She's called out the executive bonus program and potential upcoming dividend payments, which will see untold millions go to the richest employees at Disney, while the poorest are currently being forced to seek out government assistance in order to pay rent and eat a warm dinner. In a 22-tweet thread, Disney picks apart the company's financial chess moves and why these moves are enriching those at the company who are already wealthy, all at the expense of the poorest employees.
This isn't the first time Abigail Disney has taken the Disney company to task; in 2019, she criticized outgoing CEO Bob Iger for his astronomical income. During the current coronavirus pandemic, Iger has forgone the remainder of his $3 million salary for the rest of 2020, but it's merely a symbolic gesture when the majority of his income comes from regular bonuses that add up to tens of millions of dollars per year (in 2018, he earned $66 million in compensation).
Abigail Disney is making a simple point. Disney is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and ground level workers shouldn't suffer while its executives rake in millions of dollars. If the decision-makers have a shred of decency and compassion, they'll do what is necessary to make right this situation that has gone so horribly wrong for the hardworking people who make Disney magic every day. What they're doing now is not enough, at least according to Abigail Disney.
Source: Abigail Disney