Disney CEO thanks employees in earnings memo; Coinbase CEO tells employees he wants to reform company in layoff note

Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the last week and see what we can learn from them.

1. Disney chief praises employees following post-layoffs memo as he lays out priorities

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro laid out the entertainment giant’s priorities over the coming months following a positive earnings call, thanking employees for their contributions and bearing with the House of Mouse amid changes. In a memo obtained by Business Insider, D’Amaro went into details about Disney’s plans for storytelling, streaming, sports and experiences, while ending on a note of gratitude. This message comes in the wake of D’Amaro’s ascension to the CEO role earlier this year, in addition to the announcement of layoffs over the last month-plus.

I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together this quarter, and I encourage you to read more about our achievements in our letter to shareholders. I’m grateful for the passion, resilience, and optimism you bring to your work, and I’m energized by the opportunities in front of us as we lay the groundwork for Disney’s next phase of growth.

2. Coinbase CEO announces layoffs, major organizational changes, emphasizing AI

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told employees earlier this week that the cryptocurrency exchange was laying off 14% of employees, citing market forces and “AI changing the way we work.” In his memo, published on his personal X page after it was sent to employees, Armstrong walked employees through his reasoning, stating that the company needed to adjust how it operated in an AI-first world. He also said that managers needed to interact more with their reports and said he hoped to reform Coinbase as “an intelligence with humans around the edge aligning it.” Armstrong outlined the idea of “AI-native pods” at the new-look Coinbase as well.

We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role.

In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.

While Armstrong’s layoff memo hits all the usual notes like outlining the reasoning and thanking employees for their contributions, his memo is notable because of the amount of detail and emphasis on AI. The memo decenters on-the-job human experience and repositions it around AI. By framing the sweeping changes at Coinbase around AI in such blunt and clear terms, Armstrong’s note makes it clear that major adjustments are coming.

3. Microsoft data: Managers are key to employee AI adoption

A new report published by Microsoft found that when employees see their managers model AI adoption, they’re much more likely to have smoother AI adoption experiences themselves. The report found that when employees saw their managers model AI use, they had 17% increase in perceived AI value, a 22% increase in critical thinking about AI usage, and a 30% boost in trust of agentic AI.

This study reinforces the notion that the employee-manager connection is one of the most important pathways for messaging, especially about workplace-changing technologies like AI. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with a top-down announcement about an AI adoption rollout, the data serves as a reminder that comms pros shouldn’t overlook managers as conduits for change messaging or modeling behavior they’d like employees to adopt.

4. How about some good news?

• Archaeologists uncovered a 1,600-year-old copy of The Iliad alongside a mummy in Egypt.
• Buffalo Sabres hockey fans helped sing the Canadian national anthem ahead when the microphone failed before a recent game.
• Scientists discovered that seeds of the moringa tree can filter 98% of microplastics from tap water.
• Ragan Training is an excellent place for communications professionals to find inspiration and valuable resources.
• You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.