As Disney continues navigating the 1,000 layoffs that took place this week, chief brand and marketing officer Asad Ayaz has sent a new memo to employees.

Asad Ayaz’s Employee Memo

Per the memo published by Business Insider, Ayaz gave staff a little more context about the marketing and brand unification process. “Over the past few months, the marketing leadership team and I have been working together to design a thoughtful go-forward structure for our unified marketing organization that will unlock innovation, reduce complexity, and build critical capabilities,” he wrote.

He went on to explain that there are industry-wide disruptions of how marketing works and that the company must adapt by creating a cohesive offering to best serve customers. Ayaz also recognized that the news was “difficult” and that those impacted would be supported.

“I am mindful of the real, personal impact changes like these can have,” he noted. We are working closely with our HR partners to ensure that those impacted this week are being supported through this process, and I appreciate everyone’s patience and sensitivity as we support our friends and trusted colleagues through this time.“

So far, we know that about 8% of Marvel’s workforce has been let go, and entire teams and leadership have been reduced in the latest round of layoffs. Josh D’Amaro also recently released a memo about the layoffs, indicating that the process was “hard” as it was not an indication of quality work.

Read the full memo below:

Team,

By now, you are aware that organizational changes have been taking place across several areas of the company, including marketing. It has been a hard week, and I know news like this can be very difficult. That is why I want to take this opportunity to be transparent about what is changing in marketing and why.

Over the past few months, the marketing leadership team and I have been working together to design a thoughtful go-forward structure for our unified marketing organization that will unlock innovation, reduce complexity, and build critical capabilities. We carefully considered how the global marketing function is evolving to meet the disruption happening across all industries so we could design an org that is nimble and modern fueling world-class creativity and serving consumers and fans in an even more connected and seamless way.

While we have made a great deal of progress, especially with an effort of this scale, there has also been a reduction in certain roles across some of our teams. This difficult news has now been communicated to all employees who have been impacted this week.

As part of this work, we found overlap in some roles and functions and identified new skills we need going forward. This means that some team members have also been offered new roles or responsibilities to ensure we have the necessary capabilities to take us into the future.

I am mindful of the real, personal impact changes like these can have. We are working closely with our HR partners to ensure that those impacted this week are being supported through this process, and I appreciate everyone’s patience and sensitivity as we support our friends and trusted colleagues through this time.

Please know that I am incredibly proud of the exceptional work this team does every day and today’s changes take nothing away from the accomplishments of everyone who has been part of our marketing team.

I remain confident in the strength of our team and what comes next. Thank you for your continued work, your professionalism, and your compassion for one another as we navigate this transformative time together. Please reach out to me, your leader, or your HR partner if you need anything.

Asad

Ayaz was named the chief marketing officer for The Walt Disney Company in January 2026. He is the first CMO in the history of the company. As marketing head at The Walt Disney Studios for eight years, Ayaz had taken the lead on marketing for properties including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Disney live-action and animation.

For the latest Disney Parks news and info, follow WDW News Today on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.