Saturday, February 09, 2013

How Large the Cuts?

Re DWA, the Wall Street Journal reports:

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc might cut a maximum of 500 jobs from its 2,000 member workforce following disappointing holiday results and delays to its film lineup, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the situation. ...

This is the question that's ricocheted through the last week. How many employees will DreamWorks Animation let go? (I've been asked by reporters here and there, and I have given them estimates, emphasizing that figures coming out of my mouth are based on talks with DWA employees and ... guesswork. (All management has said to me is that there will be layoffs. They gave no numbers.)

I don't know who the WSJ talked to, but everyone I've interacted with at the studio says layoffs will be in the 250-450 range. I've also been told by production employees that PDI will have cuts similar to the DreamWorks Glendale campus.

Animation story crew members have told me that management isn't cutting storyboard artists. Others have said they think employees with term contracts will be kept on until the end of their deals. "At will" employees (those without contracts guaranteeing them lengths of employment) will be getting laid off at the end of their assignments.

Friday I talked to a supervisor who represented that management hasn't made final determinations how large cuts will be at the Glendale campus, the Redwood City studio, or India.

Me, I think management has a general idea about who goes and who stays. But maybe I'm too cynical for my own good.

0 comments:

Site Meter