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.
Multiple people wounded in shooting at South Carolina’s largest mall, authorities detain suspects
Helicopter footage captures Florida man allegedly abandoning child during high-speed chase from deputies
Death threats from ‘TDS’ song show it’s ‘about the right thing’: Natasha Owens
Workers rip Trump name from Kennedy center facade months after it goes on, hours after failed appeal
US opens its home World Cup with a dynamic 4-1 victory over Paraguay, sparked by Balogun’s 2 goals
Lib Mayor Defends ‘Violence Intervention’ Activists After Yet Another Gets Arrested
Major Car Maker Issues Recall Over Engine Issue That Could Make Vehicle Stall
EXCLUSIVE: Collins pits record built in Maine potato fields against Platner’s ‘angry rhetoric’
Why This Tech Company Wants to Release 32 Million Mosquitos Into the US
Kennedy Center takes down Trump’s name: Photos
Trump Develops Plan to Get His First Term Impeachments Expunged: ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’
Kennedy Center workers start to remove Trump’s name after overnight deadline
Fraudster Who Gave 7 Million Elderly Americans’ Information to Scammers Sent to Prison
Talarico touts Texas roots as out-of-state cash powers Senate campaign
Episcopal Church Installs First Lesbian Bishop in the Southern US
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.
Multiple people wounded in shooting at South Carolina’s largest mall, authorities detain suspects
Helicopter footage captures Florida man allegedly abandoning child during high-speed chase from deputies
Death threats from ‘TDS’ song show it’s ‘about the right thing’: Natasha Owens
Workers rip Trump name from Kennedy center facade months after it goes on, hours after failed appeal
US opens its home World Cup with a dynamic 4-1 victory over Paraguay, sparked by Balogun’s 2 goals
Lib Mayor Defends ‘Violence Intervention’ Activists After Yet Another Gets Arrested
Major Car Maker Issues Recall Over Engine Issue That Could Make Vehicle Stall
EXCLUSIVE: Collins pits record built in Maine potato fields against Platner’s ‘angry rhetoric’
Why This Tech Company Wants to Release 32 Million Mosquitos Into the US
Kennedy Center takes down Trump’s name: Photos
Trump Develops Plan to Get His First Term Impeachments Expunged: ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’
Kennedy Center workers start to remove Trump’s name after overnight deadline
Fraudster Who Gave 7 Million Elderly Americans’ Information to Scammers Sent to Prison
Talarico touts Texas roots as out-of-state cash powers Senate campaign
Episcopal Church Installs First Lesbian Bishop in the Southern US
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.
