The entrance to Pixar Animation Studios headquarters at 1200 Park Avenue in Emeryville. (Google Maps)
EMERYVILLE — Pixar Animation Studios has announced plans to cut more than 100 jobs at the “Toy Story” creator's headquarters complex in the East Bay.
In a new blow to the technology and entertainment industries, Walt Disney Co. subsidiary Pixar told the state labor department it was cutting 181 jobs in Emeryville.
“After careful evaluation of many factors, Pixar has decided to permanently reduce its employee count at its headquarters at 1200 Park Avenue in Emeryville,” Pixar Executive Vice President Reema Bhatnagar told the state Employment Development Department.
In a WARN notice filed with the state, the company said the cuts would take effect July 26. According to a post on the EDD website, Pixar described the cuts as “permanent.” The affected employees are not unionized and “we do not have the right to terminate them,” Pixar vice president Reema Bhatnagar told the EDD.
Burbank-based Disney has been teasing Wall Street with its massive cost-cutting plans for more than a year. In November 2023, the company revealed it planned to make $7.5 billion in cuts of all kinds.
Since 2022, technology companies have been cutting jobs as they shift resources to promising new businesses such as artificial intelligence and try to reverse over-hiring during the coronavirus pandemic, when remote work became widespread.
Pixar's cuts may also be linked to other issues, such as the disparity in Hollywood's box office, where feature films have struggled to attract audiences.
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