Disney’s Pixar is set to lay off 175 employees, approximately 14% of the studio’s staff

Pixar Animation Studios announced Tuesday that it is laying off about 14% of its workforce, which equates to 175 employees.

The layoffs by the studio, owned by the Walt Disney Company, mark the biggest shakeup in its employment since it was created. These layoffs are also part of a wider move by Disney CEO Bob Iger to restructure the company to focus more on quality over content output.

“Today, leaders will begin the process of notifying employees whose positions are being impacted,” Pixar President Jim Morris said in a memo. “Calendar invites to speak with a leader have already gone out to those individuals, and we anticipate we will have connected with everyone impacted by the end of the day.”

The studio, known for animated films including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, announced that it plans to no longer focus on streaming series for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. Instead, the studio will shift focus to theatrical films.

Pixar’s latest round of layoffs comes less than a year after the studio announced it would be letting go of 75 employees, marking the first layoffs in 10 years.

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The last four years have not been kind to Pixar, as five of the studio’s last six movies have either financially flopped or been released straight to Disney+. The studio’s most recent film, Elemental, ended up performing better than expected after a rough opening at the box office, with the final tally being at just under $500 million worldwide.

Disney as a whole has had a rough time, with most of the company’s film output in 2023 either underperforming or outright flopping at the box office. Earlier this month, it was revealed that four of the five biggest box office flops in 2023 were released by Disney, all of which lost over $100 million, including one that lost over $230 million.