The Workforce AI Index · Communication Services
Disney (DIS)
Parks, resorts, networks and studios by description. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2025-09-27, filed 2025-11-13. Ranked 10 of the 10 Communication Services companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states the total, the U.S. split and the full-time, part-time and seasonal shares, but nothing by segment, so the four patterns follow its description of parks, resorts, networks and production.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 18% now, 29% at the end of 2027, 33% at the end of 2028, 34% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 34% desk work, 25% people work and 41% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 66% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 23% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
231,000 employees as of 2025-09-27 (stated). Approximately 172,000 in the U.S. and 59,000 outside it.
The filing: “The Company employed approximately 231,000 people as of fiscal year end 2025, of which approximately 172,000 were employed in the U.S. and approximately 59,000 were employed outside the U.S.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Amusement Parks and Arcades | 55% | By (c): the filing states no headcount by segment, and describes its Experiences segment of theme parks, resorts and cruise ships, whose employees it names as covered by collective bargaining agreements, so the largest share is read into the amusement parks pattern by description. |
| Traveler Accommodation | 10% | By (c): the resorts and cruise operations within Experiences are described without a count, so a share is read into the traveler accommodation pattern by description. |
| Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers | 20% | By (c): the Entertainment and Sports segments' streaming services, television networks and ESPN are described without a headcount, so a share is read into the media streaming and networks pattern by description. |
| Motion Picture and Video Industries | 15% | By (c): film and television production, whose writers, directors, actors and production personnel the filing names as covered by collective bargaining agreements, is read into the motion picture pattern by description. |
What the filing says about the workforce: About 231,000 employees: 76% full-time, 16% part-time and 8% seasonal; 172,000 in the U.S.; a significant number, including theme park employees and production personnel, under collective bargaining agreements, and some employees abroad represented by works councils or unions.
What the filing says about AI
7 sentences in the filing name AI. AI appears in the risk factors (generative AI tools that can create competing low-cost content, AI tools used to create infringing works from its intellectual property, and an uncertain legal landscape); the human capital section does not mention it.
- “Regulations governing new technological developments, such as developments in artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI and large language model tools, remain unsettled, and these developments may affect aspects of our existing business models, including revenue streams for the use of our IP, how we create our entertainment offerings and the competition we face.”
- “Technological developments, including developments in generative AI tools that can be used to create competing low-cost content and products, and changes in market structure, including consolidation of suppliers of resources and distribution channels, increase competition in these areas.”
- “Further, the availability of certain AI tools has facilitated the creation of infringing works based on the unauthorized use of our IP.”
- “The legal landscape for some new technologies, including some AI tools, remains uncertain, and development of the law or other regulatory frameworks in this area could impact our ability to protect against unauthorized uses.”
- “In addition, the availability of copyright protection and other legal protections for IP generated by certain new technologies, such as generative AI, is uncertain.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-27 | 231,000 | 2025-11-13 | 10-K |
| 2024-09-28 | 233,000 | 2024-11-14 | 10-K |
| 2023-09-30 | 225,000 | 2023-11-21 | 10-K |
| 2022-10-01 | 220,000 | 2022-11-29 | 10-K |
| 2021-10-02 | 190,000 | 2021-11-24 | 10-K |
| 2020-10-03 | 203,000 | 2020-11-25 | 10-K |
| 2019-09-28 | 223,000 | 2019-11-20 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No headcount by segment is stated; all four pattern shares follow the business description (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001744489-25-000155, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Disney's working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 18% now and 33% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Disney's own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Disney employ?
- 231,000 as of September 27, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending September 27, 2025 states. About 75% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Disney's workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 4 industry staffing patterns, the largest Amusement Parks and Arcades; by those patterns the work is about 34% desk work, 25% people work and 41% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Disney's annual report say about AI?
- 7 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.