Disney Lay-Offs

Disney Lay-Offs

With the recession trying to wiggle its way out this latest funk, some of the heavy hitters are also taking a hit in this latest economic state. The Walt Disney Company is expecting to begin layoffs at its studio and consumer product divisions within the next two weeks. According to two people with knowledge of the matter, in the latest cost-reduction step to emerge from a company-wide review. Many times these reviews are done in order to shift some of the money being spent into other projects, maybe even other jobs.

Pixar Studios

Their studio jobs will be cut in the area of marketing and home video units and include a small number from the animation wing (Pixar Studios), said these sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans had not been made public, and sometimes these things have a way of changing. The number of people who will lose their jobs is not yet known. How many jobs will be lost in each division will soon be determined. The staff reductions in the consumer products unit will largely result from attrition, as many of these jobs will not be replaced. On Wednesday, Disney began layoffs at the 30-year-old LucasArts games studio which was recently inherited along with the acquisition of George Lucas’ film company last year, as it focuses on licensing its “Star Wars” brand externally. In addition these cuts will be in the wake of the movies that are set to be released for the Star Wars series, which are going to continue in the next few years.

Disneyland California

Disney which is headquartered in Burbank, California, started an internal cost-cutting review late last year to identify cutbacks in jobs it no longer needs because of improvements in technology, something that the company is always on the cutting edge of. Also with the growth in the recent acquisitions it has made, It is looking to reduce redundant operations that will be eliminated as a result. Disney cut about 200 people at its Disney Interactive video game last year, as the company moved away from console games to focus on online and mobile entertainment. In addition to those number an already 100 staffers have been laid off in two cuts since. The company also made cuts at the publishing unit last year when Disney moved its operations to Burbank from New York as part of a restructuring of its consumer products unit.