Disney's Pixar Animation to Cut 14% of Workforce

Pixar Animation Studios plans to lay off roughly 14% of its personnel. The studio is reducing its production of original streaming programming. Pixar will refocus solely on feature films, which will be released in theatres before being available on Disney Plus.

Credit: Reuters

Pixar Animation Studios, known for popular films such as "Toy Story" and "Up," plans to lay off around 14% of its personnel. The move comes as the studio reduces its production of original streaming shows, according to a trustworthy source familiar with the situation.

Around 175 employees will be affected by the job cuts at this Walt Disney Co unit. The animation studio had previously expanded its staff to create exclusive series, as former Disney CEO Bob Chapek emphasised the production of original content for Disney+ across all creative units.

However, Chapek's successor, Bob Iger, has altered gears by lowering expenditure on original streaming programming in order to bring Disney+ into profitability. The company's entertainment sector, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, generated an operational profit in the most recent quarter.

As a result of this strategy adjustment, Pixar will now focus solely on feature films, which will be released in theatres before being available on Disney+. This year, the studio will only produce one original series, "Win or Lose," about a co-ed softball team that will be exclusive to Disney+.

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• Pixar Animation Studios is set to lay off approximately 14% of its workforce.

• The studio is scaling back its development of original streaming series.

• Pixar will refocus exclusively on feature films, which will be released in theaters before becoming available on Disney+.

Source: REUTERS