Homer, Bart, Marge, and Lisa will now be rubbing shoulders with Mickey and the rest of the Disney Universe. Disney’s acquisition of a large portion of Fox opens doors to many new possibilities, but could also be a detriment to their employees.

Disney recently purchased 21st Century Fox on March 19, 2019, for $71.3 billion dollars, completing one of the largest media acquisitions in history. With this new purchase, Disney now has access to better movie production studios and owns a portion of Hulu, a popular television streaming service.

Many support this acquisition, as they believe it will benefit consumers because movies and animations will likely improve. With access to more resources and intellectual property, Disney has the potential to achieve major growth.

However, many more disagree, saying that Disney has turned into a monopoly over the decades and that this new acquisition has given them too much power over the entertainment industry. Also, critics argue that large mergers and acquisitions lessen the diversity of the market, which undermines true democracy and a free market.

Also, as a result of the merger, Disney is projected to lay off approximately 4,000 workers. This will be a large hit to the overall morale of the company. Disney justifies their actions with the claim they will reach $2 billion in synergy savings by 2021. Synergy savings are the savings produced after two companies merge. Unfortunately, most of these projected savings are coming from the reduction of these now unneeded employees.

Some of the employees that are being let go have been with the company for many years. These are the type of employees that are armed with with skills that have become archaic over the years, making them ineffective at many other companies. This stint of unemployment could be one of crippling proportion.

Additionally, Fox and Disney are now sharing some of their spaces. Despite the merger, Fox still remains a competitor in the media field, and this sharing ruins any hope of secrecy for meetings with prospective clients. This will strain the relationship between the employees of both companies as Disney attempts to create a unified front.