Walt Disney Co. will begin laying off employees this week in the first of three rounds of job cuts that were announced earlier in the year.

In a company-wide message obtained by FOX Business on Monday, Disney CEO Bob Iger updated employees on the cuts expected to take place at the entertainment giant, saying the "first group of impacted employees" would receive notification they were being laid off "over the next four days." Senior leaders at the company had been "working closely with HR to assess their operational needs" over the past handful of months, he said. 

Two other rounds of layoffs will follow the one starting this week, with Iger telling Disney employees the "second, larger round" will take place in April and the third slated for "before the beginning of the summer," according to the memo. The layoffs will ultimately trim Disney's headcount by about 7,000 workers.

Citing an unnamed source, Reuters reported Disney's corporate staff, as well as its Disney Entertainment and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segments, would see cuts this week.

Iger wrote the layoffs were "not something we take lightly," later expressing his "sincere thanks and appreciation to every departing employee for your numerous contributions and your devotion to this beloved company," according to the message.

The commencement of the layoffs will come over a month after the entertainment giant revealed during its first-quarter earnings call its plans to make the job cuts.