75 positions have been slashed from Walt Disney's DIS.N Pixar Animation Studios, including those of two executives who worked on the box office dud "Lightyear," according to sources on Saturday. These are the studio's first sizable staff reductions in ten years. The cutbacks included 'Lightyear' director Angus MacLane, a 26-year animator who worked on critically acclaimed films including 'Toy Story 4" and 'Coco'. Producer of "Lightyear," Galyn Susman, also left. Susman had worked with Pixar since the 1995 debut of the first "Toy Story" film. It was impossible to contact MacLane or Susman for comment. According to the reports, Michael Agulnek, who has served as Pixar's vice president of global press since 2015, was also let go. When contacted for comment, he did not pick up.
The employment layoffs, which were implemented on May 23, are a part of Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger's previously disclosed strategy to reduce $5.5 billion in expenses and 7,000 employees. In that reorganization, a division responsible for distribution was dissolved while the film and television groups were consolidated into a single Disney Entertainment business. The layoffs are important even though they are minor in comparison to Pixar's employment base of approximately 1,200 since the studio is a creative power behind popular brands and characters that generate cash for Disney. Pixar is well known for the film series "Toy Story," "The Incredibles," and "Cars." However, "Lightyear," which was released a year ago with a $200 million projected budget, only made a meager $226.7 million in international ticket sales and earned mixed reviews.
In comparison, Pixar's "Incredibles 2" in 2018 achieved worldwide box office revenues of $1.2 billion despite reportedly having a comparable production budget. Due to its depiction of a same-sex romance, "Lightyear" was prohibited from screening in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian nations. This affected how well it did at the box office. Every branch of Disney, including film and television, streaming services, and theme parks, has conducted layoffs. The last time Pixar made employment cuts was in 2013, following the studio's decision to delay the premiere of "The Good Dinosaur," a 2015 movie, and fire its director, Bob Peterson. There were about 30 posts abolished. In order to revive its faltering Disney Animation, Disney purchased Pixar in 2006.
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