Pandemic, lockdown hit Hollywood hard; Disney, Lionsgate to lay off employees

One of Hollywood's top studio Disney has now enacted on layoffs which have impacted more than 50 employees who worked in the marketing group of the studio in the New York-based theatrical division. Earlier this year, the company had put out ads on vacancies available in several divisions, now they have kept the positions closed. 

Searchlight Pictures, which was once owned by Fox Studio have now laid off six people. Disney, which has a vast division in all kinds of entertainment division, had suffered the most due to the pandemic. A report of Variety mentioned that their Florida themed parks located in California and Paris were shut for the longest time. While the California division has reopened, the Paris division was shut down again.

In the realm of cinema, potential superhit blockbuster releases such as ""Black Widow", "Mulan", "West Side Story", had to be kept in hold. While the streaming service, Disney Plus + Hotstar may have been a relief during the pandemic, it wasn't enough to keep the entire company running. 

A report on Deadline said that Lionsgate would close 15% of the studio's motion picture group due to the pandemic. Sony Pictures had to lay off the marketing and the distribution division of their company. 

Joe Drake, chairman of the motion picture group in a note to the employees said,"While our business remains fundamentally strong, we are not immune to the ongoing COVID crisis that is impacting us like so many other studios. These demands on our business necessitate that we accelerate changes to our own operations and strategic plan. And today, in order to meet the challenges and opportunities in front of us, we begin the implementation of a reorganization of the Motion Picture Group around four globally integrated verticals. This means that individuals across the MPG will be impacted as groups are being combined, and new roles have been defined or eliminated as part of this process." 

In the same note, Drake also thanked the employees for their contribution to making their studios better. He noted that he can be of service if they decide where to direct their talent next.