Disney World Cast Members informed furloughs continue ‘until further notice’

Thousands of furloughed Walt Disney World Cast Members are being told by management that they will remain on furlough until further notice due to the coronavirus.

Florida’s tourism industry has hit rock bottom, even with the phased reopening of the Disney and Universal theme parks. Furloughs that were hoped to last for only a few months continue. Hotels, restaurants, airlines and transportation companies continue to update the state with the layoffs and indefinite furloughs for their staffs on an almost daily basis through Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Notices.

The latest notices sent to furlough Cast Members from Disney reads: “We continue to manage through this pandemic, and based on your role, you will continue to remain on furlough until further notice. When we initially notified you of your furlough, we could not have anticipated that it could exceed six months. However, due to business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time and given the unprecedented and ongoing nature of the pandemic and its impact on our businesses, we regret to inform you that we now reasonably expect your furlough could extend beyond six months from your initial furlough date. We wish we had been able to provide you with more notice, and we have acted as quickly as we could, given the rapidly changing situation.”

The notice comes as media have reported that pay cuts instituted to Disney executives at the start coronavirus have been for executives have been rescinded.

While Disney has recalled numerous Cast Members to run the park, there are still thousands without work. In addition, in April, Disney discontinued its college and professional internships, sending releasing nearly 6,000 people from employment at the time.