California, May 22: Pixar Animation Studios, a US-based animation studio known for its popular movies like Toy Story, Cars, Up, Ratatouille and others, has reportedly started cutting job roles as it scaled back the development of its original streaming services, said a report. This time, the Pixar layoffs will affect 14% of its workforce, around 175 people. In January, it was reported that layoffs at Pixar will continue in 2024 leading to 20% workforce reduction in the coming months. It was reported that Pixar layoffs will reduce the team from 1,300 to 1,000.
Reuters reported that Walt Disney Studios-owned Pixar Animation Studios hired extra staff members to create the original series. The report mentioned that the former Disney CEO Bob Chapek pushed the company’s creative units in order to produce Disney+ exclusive content. This strategic decision, while aimed at expanding the Disney+ content, has led to the current situation at Pixar. Bob Iger, the current CEO of Disney, scaled back spending on original streaming content to increase the profitability of Disney+. In the most recent quarter, the company’s entertainment division – Disney+ and Hulu streaming services reported operating profit. SeekOut Layoffs: US-Based AI Recruitment Startup Lays Off 30% of Its Workforce To Refocus and Prioritise Initiatives With Bigger Impact, More Value Addition.
The report mentioned that Pixar Animation Studios would exclusively focus on feature films getting released in theatres before they become available on Disney+ for homes. According to a report by The New York Times, Pixar layoffs in 2024 will be due to the animation studio’s “broader retrenchment” to stop making original shows for Disney+. The report said that the layoffs at Pixar were announced by Pixar’s president Jim Morris in an internal memo citing to focus on feature films. Walmart Layoffs Continue: Retail Giant To Lay Off 318 Employees at Edgerton Warehouse As It Moves Distribution Operations to Topeka in US.
The report highlighted that Disney “weakened the Pixar brand by using its films to build the Disney+ streaming service.” The New York Times said that Disney poured money into the streaming service to attract around 260 million subscribers from the previous 87 million globally. However, it was proven to be an unsuccessful effort. Disney now has around 154 million subscribers worldwide.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on May 22, 2024 09:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).