Disney-owned Pixar, the animation studio behind blockbuster franchises “Toy Story,” The Incredibles” and “Finding Nemo,” is set to slash jobs, according to reports.
The studio has “completed production on some shows and now has more staff than it needs,” Reuters reported on Friday, citing an anonymous source.
TechCrunch had reported earlier this week that Pixar will chop headcount by as much as 20% this year, reducing staffing to roughly 1,000 from the current 1,300 that work for the studio.
However, the anonymous source disputed that number, saying the studio had yet to determine how many will jobs will be cut, but added that the layoffs were “imminent.”
Disney and Pixar did not immediately respond for requests seeking comment.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the company in 2022 to turn the struggling entertainment and media giant around, has signaled the company will reduce the streaming content it makes in order to tamp down costs, and instead will license shows and movies from third parties.
Last June, Pixar slashed 75 jobs, including two execs who were behind the box-office flop “Lightyear” — the studio’s first significant job cuts in a decade.
The 2022 animated film focusing on the “Toy Story” character Buzz Lightyear had a budget of $200 million.
It grossed $226.4 million worldwide.
The movie studio, whose hit franchises bring in over $1 billion per flick, has been impacted by the slow return of moviegoers to the theaters after the pandemic.
Last year’s opening of its movie “Elemental” was slow, but the romantic comedy where the four classical elements — fire, water, earth and air — coexist, picked up pace to bring in nearly $500 million in worldwide ticket sales.
Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 to revitalize its struggling Disney Animation — a move that Iger recently told CNBC was likely “the best acquisition he made” during tenure at the Mouse House.
