Hollywood is seeing a wave of staff reductions from the corporate suites to the theme park turnstiles as entertainment giants including the Walt Disney Co. and Endeavor implement layoffs and furloughs in response to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic.
Just how bad is the carnage? In Los Angeles County alone, 14,000 entertainment-related workers saw their jobs evaporate in less than two months, according to a new report from tech news outlet dot.LA. Meanwhile, Tinseltown could see even more bloodshed in the second quarter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Endeavor — the largest Hollywood talent agency, as well as a studio — recently said that it will lay off or furlough up to a third of its staff. Disney has furloughed more than 100,000 employees worldwide, mostly in the company’s parks division.
Hollywood has been hit on multiple fronts, including the closure of cinemas and the suspension of live sports, which is usually a cash cow for broadcasters. The L.A. office of Fox Sports Productions saw 3,595 people temporarily laid off at the end of April, according to dot.LA.
Humanoid robots could patrol southern border, CEO pitches, as futuristic technology moves closer to reality
Men Are Not Women: Stand Up for the Truth
The only map you need to see as California’s billionaire tax fight heats up
Lexington, Kentucky park shooting kills 1, injures 4 during live band performance
Democrats Want ID for Hot Pockets But Not for Voting?
Last-Ditch Effort to Kill Trump Fossil Fuel EOs Goes Down in Flames
Family killer Chris Watts seeks prison marriage with new love interest: report
Why Did Pollsters Get Michigan And Wisconsin Primaries So Wrong?
Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish senator, faces angry Jewish voters
Trump’s men at the United Nations
Swing-state’s fraud reckoning raises Minnesota-style alarm as wild schemes exposed
Mundane DOJ Memo on Post Office Gun Bans Is Actually Bigger Deal Than You Think
ICE bought nonlethal shock gloves for officers. Democrats still are not pleased
Americans clash over transgender athletes as debate heats up: ‘Just getting outrageous’
Routine California traffic stop leads to seizure of 30 pounds of cocaine worth more than $800K
Some of the biggest job losses have come from the production sector, which consists of below-the-line crew members who typically toil year round on crowded movie and TV sets. Hollywood’s trade unions have seen their members idle without work as soundstages around the country remain empty.
Breitbart News reported last week that Hollywood studios are currently working on ways to make sets safe when production ultimately resumes. While no major studio has yet to announce a timetable, one source told Breitbart that U.S. production may resume in June at the earliest.
But L.A. County’s decision to prolong its stay-at-home order for an additional three months is only creating more uncertainty.
Tyler Perry recently announced that his Atlanta studio will resume limited production in July. Countries including New Zealand, Poland, the Czech Republic have also announced that shooting can resume.
The Hollywood Reporter noted that individual studios are remaining vague about potential future layoffs. But some executives have spoken about coronavirus-related cost savings.
Humanoid robots could patrol southern border, CEO pitches, as futuristic technology moves closer to reality
Men Are Not Women: Stand Up for the Truth
The only map you need to see as California’s billionaire tax fight heats up
Lexington, Kentucky park shooting kills 1, injures 4 during live band performance
Democrats Want ID for Hot Pockets But Not for Voting?
Last-Ditch Effort to Kill Trump Fossil Fuel EOs Goes Down in Flames
Family killer Chris Watts seeks prison marriage with new love interest: report
Why Did Pollsters Get Michigan And Wisconsin Primaries So Wrong?
Jon Ossoff, Georgia’s first Jewish senator, faces angry Jewish voters
Trump’s men at the United Nations
Swing-state’s fraud reckoning raises Minnesota-style alarm as wild schemes exposed
Mundane DOJ Memo on Post Office Gun Bans Is Actually Bigger Deal Than You Think
ICE bought nonlethal shock gloves for officers. Democrats still are not pleased
Americans clash over transgender athletes as debate heats up: ‘Just getting outrageous’
Routine California traffic stop leads to seizure of 30 pounds of cocaine worth more than $800K
ViacomCBS has indicated that it will take more cost-cutting steps in addition to the ones already realized from the re-merger of Viacom and CBS.
Chief financial officer Christina Spade said the company was “taking additional cost-cutting actions and implementing initiatives to reduce discretionary expenses” amid the pandemic. “We are learning from this crisis and finding ways that we can operate more efficiently,” she said during a recent earnings call.
Meanwhile, Disney has begun the gradual process of re-opening its theme parks and resorts. Disney Springs in Orlando is set to partially re-open on May 20, though the adjacent Walt Disney World remains closed. Shanghai Disney Resort recently opened again with visitors required to take special precautions, including social distancing and masks.
Story cited here.
