IT Workers at Walt Disney World

[DizneyRox]

Read Married to the Mouse if you want some perspective on how shrewd Walt really was. Disney (maybe more broadly the attractions) runs Florida...

[Stu29573]

Noone ever said Walt wasn't shrewd. He had to be. Heck, if you crossed him he could be pretty tough. However, he was about loyalty, and he expected (and usually got it) in return. Being shrewd doesn't mean being heartless.

[AndrewJackson]

Walt Disney trademarked his own name, and then made The Walt Disney Company start paying licensing fees to us it, much to the chagrin of Roy, and without Roy's prior knowledge. There's some old fashioned loyalty for you.

[Stu29573]

Walt Disney trademarked his own name, and then made The Walt Disney Company start paying licensing fees to us it, much to the chagrin of Roy, and without Roy's prior knowledge. There's some old fashioned loyalty for you.

True, but it was on lawyers' advice to protect his family from possible business liability. Probably a more apt example of Walt's business shrewdness in dealing with Roy was when he established Retlaw after Walt Disney Productions filed and won a lawsuit that prevented him from closing on property he wanted to purchase for Disneyland. The creation of Retlaw effectively removed the project from Walt Disney Productions (and Roy). Roy came around later, but there were always hard feelings. In fact, Roy wasn't an ardent supporter of the park until after it became a success (Walt actually got the first bank loan for it by himself). It just shows that if you were loyal to Walt and his ideas, he was loyal back. If not? Well, there are "workarounds." Loyalty has to cut both ways.

By the way, this is a very Middle American view. Another midwesterrner, Johnnie Carson cut off Joan Rivers completely when he felt she had been disloyal to him.

[AndrewJackson]

Backstabbing and loyalty can be very similar.

[Stu29573]

Backstabbing and loyalty can be very similar.

Opposite sides of the same coin, my friend...

[Tekneek]

That sounds "romantic' and "nostalgic" to say that about Walt, and that's how we (myself included) like to remember Walt and the Disney Company from the early days. But the truth is, as always, somewhat more murky than that. While Walt was all about creativity and innovation, he was also very savvy when it came to managing the company's stock prices.

The Disney Company did not become a giant in the entertainment industry by accident. Walt did it intentionally.

I know it sounds a bit "romantic", but I also see what Walt (and Roy) did in a different light. They really did take a lot of risk. They went "all in" on more than one occasion for the future of the company. Comparing the people at the top today to Walt/Roy is apples and oranges. Iger, Staggs, and crew take no serious personal financial risk as they change the company into an ATM.

[joonyer]

I know it sounds a bit "romantic", but I also see what Walt (and Roy) did in a different light. They really did take a lot of risk. They went "all in" on more than one occasion for the future of the company. Comparing the people at the top today to Walt/Roy is apples and oranges. Iger, Staggs, and crew take no serious personal financial risk as they change the company into an ATM.

You are right, they did take a lot of personal risk, as all entrepreneurs do. And they also made sure they got rich in the process, which is perfectly fine, good and moral. That's how it should be. Entrepreneurs create wanted/needed goods and services, and they deserve to get wealthy if their creation is successful. The big difference I see is that the current Disney Co. decision makers are not entrepreneurs; they are not creating anything new of significance. In that regard, I agree 100% with you. I will add though, that if they make a really bad decision, it will probably a serious impact on their personal wealth, as I suspect many of them at the top own serious quantities of Disney stock.

[Tekneek]

No doubt they have stock and may even be compensated in further options to some degree. However, they draw a substantial base salary that equals a lifetime of earnings for many people. Most of them have contracts with golden parachutes that would require them to do something criminal to be let go without a massive payment. Compared to the IT workers they pushed out the door, they are already set for life.

[Terra]

Read Married to the Mouse if you want some perspective on how shrewd Walt really was. Disney (maybe more broadly the attractions) runs Florida...

I have to personally concur with this. Honestly in the end, the people of yesterday and today are both pretty shrewd. At the same time it doesn't mean they can't mutually like making money AND making things fun and inviting for most of the guests. It doesn't make them bad people. [And to be honest, I'm pretty much a bleeding heart and fairly extreme in my view of "money". That said, I still maintain that Walt wasn't this "can't be touched upstanding and ethical in every single thing" as people romanticize him to be.
Yes he created DL for his daughters and family. And he also ran a business, and was a business man. And unfortunately sometimes decisions are made that do negatively effect our own lives.
I was just let go from my position simply because I had a Master's Degree and they were fearful that I was going to leave anyway. I didn't like it but I've dusted myself off and I have an interview at a new place tomorrow! I was let go just last Friday. It's business and no matter what, I can't take it personally. NO matter what name is on the company.

[Butters]

There must have been enough backlash over this... Disney has reinstated the layed off workers

[BrerGnat]

There must have been enough backlash over this... Disney has reinstated the layed off workers

I think it is more than backlash. Some senator said that they should be investigated by DHS for this.

Disney probably wants to make this all go away, and quickly!

[Hammer]

Actually, I believe the people reinstated were from the ABC group, not the people this article is about. The IT workers were let go in November.

Natalie is right in that they did this to make it go away by bringing this small group back. My question is, why isn't DHS doing this to all of the other companies who employ this practice?

[Tekneek]

Natalie is right in that they did this to make it go away by bringing this small group back. My question is, why isn't DHS doing this to all of the other companies who employ this practice?

I think the DHS angle was just hot air meant to produce news stories. Although, the Department of Labor is reportedly investigating both Tata and Infosys (vendors often utilized in these sorts of moves).

The more disturbing item is the possibility of a blacklist being circulated by Disney that prevents recently laid off workers from being placed with any vendors/contractors. If that turns out to be true, that is pretty horrendous.

[Hammer]

I think the DHS angle was just hot air meant to produce news stories. Although, the Department of Labor is reportedly investigating both Tata and Infosys (vendors often utilized in these sorts of moves).

The more disturbing item is the possibility of a blacklist being circulated by Disney that prevents recently laid off workers from being placed with any vendors/contractors. If that turns out to be true, that is pretty horrendous.

Interesting about Tata and Infosys, which are also used by the company where I work along with Cognizant (the company Disney uses). Will be interested to see what happens there.

Regarding the "blacklist" it is hard to produce solid evidence to prove those allegations, as many companies have been accused of this practice in the past.

[Tekneek]

Regarding the "blacklist" it is hard to produce solid evidence to prove those allegations, as many companies have been accused of this practice in the past.

There may be a smoking gun this time. Supposedly an agency revealed to someone that they were on the list. If there is a lawsuit, discovery is going to be a fun process.

[John]

Disney ABC Television Group has announced that it is reversing a decision to lay off about 35 information technology workers, Computer World reported.

Two weeks ago, Disney ABC told the team of application developers that they would be losing their jobs, some at the end of July, and that their jobs were going to be outsourced to an IT contractor.

On Thursday, Disney ABC told the workers that plans had changed and they would retain their jobs. Some had already been training their replacements in "knowledge transfer" sessions.

The news comes after an announcement in October that saw the company lay off about 500 tech workers.

...

The company also offered a general comment about the H-1B program saying, "The Walt Disney Company makes minimal use of the H-1B visa program to meet very specific needs, in keeping with the spirit and letter of the law. If the program as currently implemented is subject to abuse, we support appropriate action to effectively remedy it."

One tech worker who would have lost his job told the magazine that the reversal was the result of a backlash over outsourcing at Parks and Resorts.

"They [Disney officials] want this to go away—right now," said an IT employee, according to Computer World.

Another worker speculated that in announcing the reversal of the layoffs, Disney was simply waiting until the negative press died down.

"Once our department learned of what happened to our Parks and Resorts colleagues, we held no illusion that our recognized knowledge and skills, company loyalty or work ethic would trump a bottom line," a Disney ABC IT worker told Computer World prior to hearing that the company canceled the layoffs.


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/US/Disney-IT-...#ixzz3dLSGBb9t

[magicofdisney]

I read this on NYT today. If I were those employees, I'd seriously consider looking elsewhere. I don't know how you'd have any semblance of job security after this. What a ****** situation to be in, especially if you love working for the company.

[NJGIRL]

As I said earlier in the thread, this is a common practice at many companies, not just Disney. I read the article and it makes it sound like Disney invented this practice. I know of H-1B workers being used by Disney for almost 3 years, as one of the H-1 workers who worked for me decided he hated the cold and asked to be transferred to Florida by his contract company. They put him at Disney.

It is definitely a slanted article.

I'm sorry but just because other companies do it, it doesn't make it right. It just brings to light that Disney doesn't care about their employees..... or anyone else for that matter.

This stinks!

[texas211]

I read this on NYT today. If I were those employees, I'd seriously consider looking elsewhere. I don't know how you'd have any semblance of job security after this. What a ****** situation to be in, especially if you love working for the company.

I 've been in IT for many years. Yeah, once that starts, time to go.

All this being said. I don't care, as long as when Pirates breaks down, they don't eat the tourists...