Disney-owned Pixar Animation Studios, long reigning as a major box-office and award-winning hitmaker in feature animation, will undergo significant layoffs this year.
Sources told Tech Crunch, who first reported the news, that cuts could be as high as 20% of jobs, reducing the staff of 1,300 to fewer than 1,000. While confirming imminent cuts, Pixar told the outlet that these figures are ‘too high’ and that the number of employees who will be let go ‘is still being determined due to factors like production schedules and staffing for future greenlit films.’
The studio already endured a round of cuts in 2023, axing 75 positions — including two executives behind the less than stellar Lightyear and animators who had been with Pixar since the first Toy Story. The layoffs were part of Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger’s plan to cut 7,000 jobs and save $5.5 billion. The chief exec said during its Q4 earnings call that he had added another $2 billion to the company-wide goal.
Pixar is due to release Inside Out 2 this year and is working on its 2025 original, Elio. The studio’s film budgets usually run to some $200 million, setting up a high bar for box-office success.
[Source: Tech Crunch]
