Disney legal chief tells under-1,000-person department it will be a 'much smaller organization' after automation review

In a September 18, 2026 memo to Disney's Legal and Global Affairs department, which has fewer than 1,000 staff worldwide, Chief Legal and Global Affairs Officer Horacio Gutierrez warned that "LGA will be a much smaller organization than it is today, and some of you will personally be affected by decisions we make in this process." He said the company would "consider a whole range of new models for different workloads, including automating certain workflows by leveraging the latest technologies," alongside self-service models, alternative legal providers, shared services and outsourcing. The memo landed the same day Disney named former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand as its first Chief Technology Officer, and follows job cuts in April and July plus a voluntary early retirement offer. Disney declined to comment on scope or timing. In-house legal work - contract review, compliance, routine drafting - is among the white-collar functions most exposed to automation, and Disney is framing the cuts as reinvention rather than retrenchment: teams working "smarter" to free up capital.