Marc Buhaj

Disney’s cost-cutting has arrived at the door of its animation and kids divisions.

As part of a multi-phase layoff plan that CEO Bob Igor announced in February, Disney TV Animation’s SVP of current series, Khaki Jones, is departing after 13 years at the studio. In 2020, she was promoted to SVP from VP, with responsibility for supervising all series and short-form content that Disney TVA and third-party studios produced for Disney’s linear channels and Disney+.

Claire McCabe, VP of the company’s one-year-old brand partnerships and kids unit, is also leaving, along with division executive director Meghan de Boer. They were both promoted last April to lead the new department focused on developing unscripted projects for kids based on existing Disney IPs.

The latest round of layoffs also includes Marc Buhaj (pictured), Disney Branded Television’s VP of unscripted series and specials. He’s been with Disney since 2007, and in recent years has overseen all non-fiction content for Disney+ and Disney Channels. Buhaj’s whole team has been affected, including Walt Disney Television alternative series VP Alicia Martino, another exec to be packaged out this week.

Disney’s marketing teams have also been gutted in this round of restructuring that will see 7,000 staffers exiting in order for the company to achieve US$5.5 billion in cost savings. The cuts started this week at Disney companies ABC and Freeform.