Disney Interactive lays off 700 people

Disney Interactive, focusing on "sustained profitability," is laying off one-quarter of its employees, James A. Pitaro, the division president, said Thursday. The Walt Disney Company's game and internet division announced that 700 people, 26 percent of its workforce, were losing their jobs, the New York Times reported. The company also said it is shifting to licensing games developed by others instead of doing its own development and is merging its faltering social media game operation into the booming one for mobile devices. "These are large-scale changes as we focus not just on getting to profitability but sustained profitability and scalability," Pitaro told the Times in an interview. The company plans to close two smaller websites, BabyZone.com and Spoonful.com. "We're not exiting any businesses, and we will pursue licensing partnerships in which we retain a lot of creative input," Pitaro said. "But this is a doubling down on mobile and an effort to focus much more intently on a core set of priorities." Disney Interactive reported profits in the last two quarters after a long period of losses because of the success of Infinity, a mobile game and toy line.