The media and entertainment industry will continue to expect more layoffs in 2024 as rising costs and leveraged balance sheets continue to weigh on the struggling sector.
Here's what top media and entertainment companies are thinking about layoffs in 2024:
Paramount Global
As M&A rumors swirl about Paramount Global's (PARA) future, CEO Bob Bakish announced layoffs in an internal memo obtained by Yahoo Finance on Thursday.
The managing director referred to the need to “operate as a leaner company and spend less”.
“As in recent years, this means that we will continue to reduce our workforce worldwide. These decisions are never easy, but are critical on our path to earnings growth,” the memo said.
Youtube
Not even tech giant Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) was immune to layoffs.
Last week, the company laid off 100 YouTube employees across creator management and operations, a spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo Finance, the first corporate restructuring in a decade. YouTube employs 7,173 people worldwide.
The staff cuts come after Alphabet cut thousands of jobs across its development, hardware and advertising teams to reduce headcount.
United music group
According to Bloomberg, Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the industry's best-known record labels, plans to lay off hundreds of employees this quarter.
Although UMG wouldn't fully confirm the report, a spokesperson hinted at the cuts in a company statement to Yahoo Finance: “We are creating efficiencies in other business areas to allow us to remain flexible and responsive to the dynamic market, while also realizing the Advantages of our scale.”
Pixar
Disney's (DIS) animation division is reportedly laying off up to 20% of its 1,300 employees, according to TechCrunch. The cuts come as streaming profitability lags while the company's box office returns struggle.
Disney did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance's request for confirmation of the report.
Business Insider
The online publication, a subsidiary of German publisher Axel Springer SE, announced Thursday that it would cut “approximately 8%” of its staff, a recent trend sweeping across major news organizations across the country. (See below in the Los Angeles Times.)
“We finished last year with a plan, a clear audience and a vision,” Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng wrote in a memo to employees. “This year is about making that a reality and aligning our company and our efforts toward that future. Unfortunately, this also means we have to make compromises in some areas of our organization.”
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times announced sweeping layoffs Tuesday that resulted in the job losses of at least 115 employees, or about 20% of its newsroom.
The Times said the staff cuts were the largest in the paper's 142-year history.
The newspaper's owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said the cuts were necessary to offset a loss of up to $40 million a year due to a dismal advertising environment.
Sports Illustrated
One of sports' longest-running publications laid off most (or possibly all) of its employees last week after its publisher, Arena Group Holdings, had its license to operate the publication revoked.
Arena Group failed to make a $3.8 million quarterly royalty payment to Authentic Brands Group, which has owned the magazine since 2019. That same year, Authentic Brands Group sold the publishing rights to Arena Group in a 10-year deal.
Read more here.