Disney lays off Marvel Entertainment chairman in cost cutting move

The chairman of Marvel Entertainment is the latest casualty of cost-cutting moves at The Walt Disney Company.

Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, 80, has been laid off as the division responsible for comic book publishing and some consumer products is merged into larger Disney business units, according to a person familiar with the situation

Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment, will reportedly remain and report to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.

Disney began to eliminate 7,000 jobs on Monday in an effort to save $5.5 billion in costs and make its streaming business profitable.

DISNEY STRIPS DESANTIS’ DISTRICT OVERSIGHT BOARD OF POWER

A person reaches for a copy of the Captain America comic book at a store in New York. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton   / Reuters Photos)

Perlmutter took control of the comic book publisher in the late 1990s and sold Marvel to Disney for $4 billion in 2009, with Perlmutter continuing to oversee Marvel properties.

In 2015, Disney CEO Bob Iger restructured Marvel, placing Marvel Studios under Walt Disney Studios.

Bob Iger has returned to Disney as CEO, replacing Bob Chapek. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In that move, Perlmutter no longer had oversight of the film studio’s budgets or creative process.

DISNEY REPORTEDLY GIVES METAVERSE DIVISION THE AXE

Perlmutter had supported activist shareholder Nelson Peltz’s unsuccessful bid this year to obtain a seat on Disney’s corporate board.

Perlmutter’s removal was first reported by The New York Times.

Reuters contributed to this report.