Pixar to implement a new wave of layoffs in 2024

These latest job cuts build on a previous staff reduction that affected 75 workers at the Disney-owned studio last year.

Layoffs are coming again to Disney’s Pixar studio later this year, Kidscreen has confirmed, though the cuts will not be as deep as the 20% figure that some media outlets have reported.

Pixar eliminated 75 positions last June in its first significant wave of layoffs this decade. The cuts were part of a broader plan to slash 7,000 jobs across Disney’s entire operation.

According to sources at Techcrunch and Reuters, this latest downsizing largely affects additional staffers who were hired for now-completed Disney+ productions, such as upcoming CG-animated series Win or Lose, Pixar’s first long-form TV project.

The challenge faced today is currently affecting the entertainment ecosystem in the form of reduced content spending by streamers and budget cuts. Amazon is also scaling back. According to an internal memo shared with employees this past Wednesday, the media giant plans to eliminate “several hundred” positions at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios.

As per Disney’s Q4 2023 financial report, Disney+ significantly narrowed its losses from US$1.5 billion in Q4 2022 to US$387 million in the same period this year. Streaming profitability remains a top priority, and the Mouse House intends to cut its content investment by US$2 billion this year in order to achieve US$7.5 billion in end-of-year savings and recover from the effects of last year’s strikes.

On the theatrical side of its business, Pixar scored a sleeper hit in 2023 with Elemental (pictured),which grossed US$496 million globally against a US$200-million budget. This represented a soft recovery following the disappointing box-office performance of Lightyear (2022) and a handful of movies that skipped the big screen during the pandemic.

Pixar’s next movie is June’s highly anticipated sequel Inside Out 2, followed by Elio in 2025.

By Sadhana Bharanidharan/kidscreen