Walt Disney Co.  (DIS) – Get Report shares slumped lower Wednesday after the entertainment giant said it would lay off tens of thousands of workers at its theme parks.

Disney said around 28,000 people will be affected by the decision, most of them part-time workers, following the closure of theme parks in California, and limited capacity elsewhere as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Third quarter revenues for the division, in fact, fell 85% from last year owing to the shutdowns.

“For the last several months, our management team has worked tirelessly to avoid having to separate anyone from the company,” Disney’s parks unit chairman Josh D’Amaro said in a letter to employees. “We’ve cut expenses, suspended capital projects, furloughed our cast members while still paying benefits, and modified our operations to run as efficiently as possible, however, we simply cannot responsibly stay fully staffed while operating at such limited capacity.” 

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