Two very different corporate stories are emerging from the technology and entertainment industries, but both highlight how companies are adjusting their workforces and employee incentives while preparing for the next phase of growth.
Space-station startup Vast has cut approximately 4% of its workforce, while Disney is preparing a significant update to its employee benefits package, including a new stock-purchase program and changes to healthcare coverage.
Vast, the California-based company building commercial space stations, dismissed 46 employees this week as part of what management described as a performance-based decision following its mid-year review cycle.
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The company said the affected workers were not meeting expectations and emphasized that the reductions do not represent a retreat from its broader growth strategy. The timing is notable.
Vast recently raised $500 million to accelerate development of its commercial space-station ambitions. The company is targeting the launch of Haven-1 in 2027 aboard a SpaceX rocket and has plans for the larger Haven-2, which could eventually contribute to the commercial infrastructure replacing the International Space Station.
Rather than signaling a broad hiring freeze, Vast says it continues to recruit, with hundreds of positions reportedly open. That suggests the company is attempting to reshape its workforce around the technical capabilities required for an increasingly ambitious space program.
Vast has expanded into satellite manufacturing and established partnerships involving the European Space Agency and national space agencies. The situation at Disney reflects a different kind of corporate adjustment.
The entertainment giant is preparing to introduce an Employee Stock Purchase Plan for eligible U.S. employees, potentially giving workers the opportunity to purchase Disney shares, likely at a discount.
The program is expected to launch in late 2027, subject to approvals, although eligibility and other details are still being finalized.
The proposed stock program arrives after Disney reduced some stock-based compensation for certain technology employees and conducted several rounds of workforce reductions. Offering broader access to company shares could therefore become an important tool for employee retention and morale, particularly as traditional compensation structures evolve.
Disney is also preparing changes to most of its medical plans beginning in 2027. Employees will generally need to actively select their coverage rather than having their existing plans automatically roll over. The company has attributed the changes to rising healthcare costs, while keeping the same insurer.
At the same time, Disney plans to expand its Employee Assistance Program by doubling available counseling sessions and consolidating certain well-being initiatives. These changes indicate an attempt to balance rising benefit costs with programs that employees increasingly value.
The developments at Vast and Disney illustrate a broader corporate trend: companies are becoming more selective about how they allocate labor and compensation. Vast is concentrating its workforce on high-priority space infrastructure projects/
While Disney is redesigning benefits to strengthen ownership, healthcare flexibility and employee support. For Vast, the immediate test is execution. For Disney, it is whether redesigned benefits can improve retention and engagement without significantly increasing costs.
In both cases, the message is similar: as companies enter uncertain and capital-intensive periods, workforce strategy is becoming as important as the products they are building.