DreamWorks Animation Plans Major Layoffs

Major layoffs are coming up at DreamWorks Animation. Details aren’t known yet, but the number of people who will be given the slip could possibly exceed the 350 employees were were dismissed in 2013, according to a report in today’s LA Times.

The layoffs will affect every part of the company’s 2,000-plus employees from animators to production artists and non-creative personnel. The studio refused to comment on the layoffs saying it “does not comment on rumor and speculation.”

However, the Wall Street Journal contends that the layoffs are not a rumor since they began happening last week. At this point, it’s not a matter of if, but of how many people will be let go.

In recent years, DreamWorks has been struggling to diversify its business model after their success in the animated feature market dried up. Three of their last four films—Turbo, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Penguins of Madagascar—have underperformed at the box office. The latter film is in danger of becoming the lowest-grossing DreamWorks CGI film ever released in the United States, which is especially shocking because the Madagacar universe was once considered among the studio’s most successful brands.

CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg had considered selling the studio, but his attempts to make a deal with companies like Hasbro and SoftBank came up short.

The studio recently replaced its feature animation president in an attempt to turn around its film division.

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