Less than half of the 32,000 Disneyland employees have returned to work after thousands were laid off or furloughed during the 412-day coronavirus closure of the Anaheim theme parks.

The Disneyland resort has 15,000 cast members currently working and expects to hire about 1,000 more this summer, according to Disneyland officials.

Disneyland laid off or furloughed thousands of cast members — Disney parlance for employees — during the COVID-19 pandemic after state officials refused to allow California theme parks to reopen for more than a year.

Before the layoffs and furloughs, Disney employed more than 100,000 at its U.S. theme parks — 32,000 at Disneyland and 77,000 at Disney World.

It’s unclear if or when Disneyland — the largest employer in Orange County prior to the pandemic — will ever return to pre-pandemic staffing levels.

The phased reopening of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure means the parks have not yet returned to full attendance capacity or reopened many attractions, restaurants and shops.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during a tech conference in late May that he expects the company’s U.S. theme parks to see low double-digit attendance increases over the next several months and reach full capacity by the fall.

An exact count of the layoffs and furloughs at the Disneyland resort during the pandemic is not available — but the numbers are staggering.

Disney laid off 28,000 employees in September 2020 at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Approximately 37,000 Disney employees were on furlough as of October 2020.

By the end of 2020, the Disneyland resort had laid off more than 11,500 employees and furloughed thousands more.

Disneyland has been steadily recalling and rehiring cast members during the phased reopening of the parks that began last fall. Admitting more visitors and bringing back additional attractions, eateries and shops would likely require hiring more cast members — based on past stages of the phased reopening of the parks.

DCA’s Buena Vista Street first reopened to holiday shoppers just before Thanksgiving 2020 — but a spike in COVID-19 cases in California soon brought additional restrictions to shops and restaurants. The phased reopening of Buena Vista Street allowed Disney to bring 230 cast members back to work.

Disney began recalling furloughed employees for DCA’s A Touch of Disney food festival that began on March 18. The limited time event brought more than 700 Disney cast members back to work.

Disneyland brought back 10,000 cast members starting in mid-March in preparation for the full reopening of the Anaheim theme parks on April 30.