Abigail Disneyis outraged over the Walt Disney Company’s decision to furlough over 100,000 workers after paying its executives millions of dollars. In a recent and lengthy Twitter thread, the Disney heiress went off on the company and their decision to pay dividends to shareholders and give executives massive bonuses. The Walt Disney Company was forced to shut down their theme parks due to the world’s current state of affairs. They closed up shop on March 14th and paid employees until April 19th.
Employees insideDisney parks have been furloughed, but will still receive their healthcare benefits until the parks reopen. However, it isn’t just the theme parks that are suffering. The Walt Disney Company has also furloughed non-essential employees within their studios. While this is understandable for most little companies around North America, Disney just paid out shareholders and executives a reported $1.5 billion. This decision is not sitting well with the late Roy Disney’s daughter, Abigail. The Disney heiress is demanding that the company “do better” when it comes to treating their employees right.
Abigail Disney says that the shareholder and executive payoffs would “pay for three months' salary to frontline workers,” adding that it was instead going to “people who have already been collecting egregious bonuses for years.” This comes after formerWalt Disney Company CEO Bob Igerand Chief Executive Officer Bob Chapek, along with other executives were taking pay cuts. Iger if not taking a salary this year. Abigail went on to say, “Dividends aren’t all bad, given the number of fixed income folks who rely on them. But still 80 percent of shares are owned by the wealthiest 10 percent. So that excuse only goes so far.”
In other words, Bob Iger and Bob Chapek aren’t really losing too much money because of the fat bonuses they just received. Abigail Disney claims that the executive salaries are just a “drop in the bucket to these guys,” claiming that the “real payday is in the rest of the package.” Abigail went on to quote Chapek, who talked about the importance of theDisney employees, noting that their “commitment to them will always be our top priority.” She had this to say in response to that specific quote.
“If even a whiff of this is sincere, none of this compensation bullsh*t is possible. This company must do better. Disney faces a rough couple of years, to be sure. The challenges are existential, even. But that does not constitute permission to continue pillaging and rampaging by management… I’m just a citizen who cares and I think that makes me free to say what I believe. But I am an heir. And I do carry this name with me everywhere. And I have a conscience which makes it very difficult for me to sit by when I see abuses taking place with that name attached to them.”
Abigail Disney’s thoughts on the Walt Disney Company’s recent business dealing has received a lot of attention on social media. AsDisney employees attempt to figure out what to do next, top executives just lined their pockets with millions. While the entire world is going through a rough time at the moment, it would seem that the Walt Disney Company could do a lot better with their power and reach. Maybe Abigail’s comments will make it to the top and start some kind of change. While we wait to find out, you can readAbigail Disney’s lengthy Twitterthread below.
