UNITED STATES: As part of a cost-cutting effort, Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment, has been fired by Walt Disney Co. (DIS.N), a source revealed on Wednesday. Perlmutter backed Nelson Peltz’s unsuccessful attempt to join Disney’s board of directors.
According to a second source with knowledge of the situation, the executive received a phone call on Wednesday informing him or her that Marvel Entertainment, a small division of the business in charge of publishing comic books and some consumer goods, would be merged into bigger Disney business units. Perlmutter could not be reached for comment right away.
Disney has laid off 7,000 employees in an effort to reduce expenses and turn its streaming business profitable. Marvel Entertainment President Dan Buckley will remain in his position and answer to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
Marvel Studios is now a part of Walt Disney Studios thanks to a 2015 reorganisation led by Disney CEO Bob Iger. Iger explained the choice in his autobiography, “The Ride of a Lifetime,” stating that he noticed “a building conflict” between the New York-based Marvel team and the Hollywood film group and that “I had to act.”
Perlmutter, who retained the position of chairman of Marvel Entertainment but would have no control over the budgets or creative process at the movie company, was reportedly upset by the move.
According to regulatory documents, Perlmutter, whose friends said he was unhappy with Disney’s financial performance under its former CEO, Bob Chapek, took the unprecedented step of repeatedly contacting Disney board members and officials last year to push for Peltz to join the board.
Peltz and Perlmutter frequent the same social circles, and insiders at Disney questioned Perlmutter’s efforts on behalf of an activist shareholder. Perlmutter may have been driven by his rage over seeing his role at the company reduced, according to an outside counsellor.
Also Read: Joe Biden Issues First Veto after Turning Down Attempt to Stop ESG Effort
