Disney has confirmed that Pixar has been hit by the recent rounds of layoffs at the company. The Toy Story animation studio is laying off 175 workers which totals 14% of its workforce.
According to Disney, the layoffs come in light of CEO Bob Iger’s big plans to cut costs. Disney wants to reduce spending by around $5.5 billion and slashing jobs is the route it has gone. In total, Disney has cut around 7,000 jobs worldwide marking one of the largest layoffs we have seen next to Amazon and Microsoft.
While at first Pixar wasn’t affected by the first round of layoffs, the studio has now sadly been hit. Originally, Pixar was overlooked due to the production schedule. The manpower working on the current pipeline of shows and movies meant all hands on deck. However, given the current movie schedule, that has since changed.
In a memo sent to staff, Pixar president Jim Morris stressed that the layoffs are part of the studio’s efforts to “return to the focus on feature films”. He followed up by saying they are “one of the hardest changes” the company had to make.
“Despite the challenges in our industry over the past few years, you have all consistently shown up to contribute, collaborate, innovate, lead, and do great work at this studio. I give you my deepest thanks, and for those who will be leaving us, I am hopeful that our paths will cross again, both professionally and personally.”
Pixar is currently gearing up to launch Inside Out 2 next month. The film is expected to debut in cinemas on 14 June.
