In a surprising article from Reuters, the news organization noted that Disney/Pixar has laid off 75 employees targeting veterans of the studio attached to Lightyear, such as Angus MacLane and Galyn Susman.
NOTE: This is a developing story.
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In addition to Angus and Galyn, Reuters has updated their article to note that Michael Agulnek (VP of Worldwide Publicity) was also included in the layoffs. We have also learned that Steve Purcell was one of the affected employees.
The cuts, which took place May 23, are part of Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger’s previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs and slash $5.5 billion in costs. That restructuring combined the film and television groups into a single Disney Entertainment unit and eliminated a division charged with distribution.
Reuters
OUR THOUGHTS
Firstly, layoffs are never an easy thing. Secondly, this is incredibly sad news as it appears (from our vantage point) that eliminated employees were folks that had been at Pixar for a long time that (most likely) also had salaries commensurate with their tenure.
It should also be noted that as of this point, we’re not aware of many of the other folks included in the layoff, what type of package they may have received as part of the layoff, or if they were given a nudge into early retirement.
As we look at this news, let’s remember that Galyn was the one that saved Pixar’s backside when they accidentally deleted Toy Story 2. We know a business is a business, but the Toy Story 2 tale, tied with her tenure, stands out.
PIXAR LAYOFF HISTORY
There may have been smaller layoffs or layoffs that happened before us starting our website, but within the last decade, the most significant layoffs were when Pixar closed Pixar Canada on October 9, 2013, and when they laid off approximately 30-60 employees due to the delayed release of The Good Dinosaur on November 22, 2013.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The only thing we can hope is that the impacted employees were let go in as respectful of a way as possible.
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