Disney is offering longtime executives the chance to leave the company early with an enhanced retirement package, as the House of Mouse continues its push to cut costs and reshape its workforce. Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman sent an internal memo this morning to employees at the director level and above, introducing what Disney is calling the Voluntary Early Retirement Offer, or VERO. The program gives eligible executives “the opportunity to retire now with an enhanced retirement package that recognizes their service and contributions.”
To qualify, executives must be U.S.-based and working within Disney Entertainment, ESPN, or Corporate, and must meet a threshold of 65 “points,” calculated by combining their age and years of service at the company. There is a minimum age requirement of 50 and a minimum of 10 years with Disney. The offer covers director through EVP level roles, but does not apply to employees on contract, which means most of Disney’s highest-profile executives would not be eligible.
The retirement package includes up to a year of separation pay based on tenure and level, healthcare at employee rates during the severance period, and continued vesting of equity awards for three years after departure. Perhaps the biggest perk for Disney fans in the room: those who accept VERO will receive Silver Pass access for life, giving them free entry to Disney theme parks outside of blackout dates. Coleman was clear that participation is completely optional, and accepting the package does not include any non-compete restrictions, so executives are free to take new jobs while keeping their severance pay.
This is all happening against a backdrop of significant workforce reductions at Disney. CEO Josh D’Amaro announced layoffs affecting up to 1,000 employees back in April, followed by another round of cuts in July that hit Pixar and National Geographic particularly hard. D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston have both signaled that more reductions are on the way, with VERO described as just one piece of a larger effort to “meaningfully reduce costs.” Voluntary early retirement packages at Disney are rare. The last comparable offer came in 2009, when the company extended voluntary buyouts to more than 600 executives in its U.S. theme parks division.
Are you surprised to see Disney taking this step, or does it feel like the right move for the company right now? Let us know in the comments below!
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