Oct 9, 2023

DreamWorks Animation laid off 70 employees.

Glendale-based DreamWorks Animation is laying off about 70 employees, Deadline reported. The employees being laid off represent about 4% of the company's more than 1,700 employees.

DreamWorks confirmed the news in a statement:

The affected roles span the corporate, feature, television, and technical departments as part of an overall cost-cutting effort.

According to Cartoon Brew, one of the hardest hit departments at the studio was the television unit called "HUB," a group of utility artists who provide support and production services across multiple series without being attached to a specific show At least 20 people were laid off from that division.

Other departments that received multiple layoffs were television post-production and dubbing. These layoffs are the second announced layoffs at DreamWorks this year, following the elimination of 33 positions last May.

Importantly, these layoffs are not directly related to the company's shift to a mixed production model, which we reported on last Friday; a Deadline reporter attributed the layoffs to "a downward cycle in business, rising production costs, and strikes."

Several DreamWorks workers said that there is tension and uncertainty at the studio and that they are prepared for more layoffs in the coming months.

Another important point: the studio is also reducing its workforce by not renewing the contracts of its contract workers. While these layoffs are not technically layoffs, and DreamWorks COO Randy Lake calls them "natural attrition," they ultimately have the same effect on the company: a reduction in staff.

Staff reductions through "natural attrition" are becoming more common throughout the L.A. animation industry as feature studios switch from a full-time to a short-term contract model. Walt Disney Animation Studios has similarly cut staff by not renewing contracts in recent months. Disney's feature film division has cut dozens of positions, but most of these are not considered layoffs by the studio.