Disney has confirmed to TechCrunch that they will be laying off as much as 20% of their people at Pixar during 2024, taking the animation company from around 1,300 staffers to less than 1,000.

It seems like these cuts are at least partially due to Disney+ not being profitable.

“According to insiders, the Pixar layoffs include headcount that was hired for Disney+ — hires Disney pushed on Pixar to produce for its streaming division, which hasn’t yet turned a profit.”

Pixar reportedly told TechCrunch that the exact number of layoffs has not been determined yet but confirmed that layoffs would be coming. 

This comes after Disney laid off about 75 people from Pixar in 2023, including Angus MacLane and Galyn Susman. The studio probably thought the culling was over, but that may not be true.

Pixar hasn’t done much theatrically since the pandemic.

Pixar films have not been performing well at the box office. “Elemental” eventually picked up after running for the summer of 2023, but previous misfires like “Lightyear” have not looked good for the studio.

It’s also important to note that since the pandemic, most Pixar films have gone directly to Disney+ or had a limited theatrical run. This may be training viewers to wait until the film comes to the streaming service. 

This was something that Pixar employees were concerned about during the pandemic, saying it was “demoralizing” for them. It seems the worries about their films not going to theaters while dropping directly on Disney+ are valid. 

“Turning Red,” “Soul” and “Luca” were released on Disney+ but are now headed to theaters to try and claw back some money for Disney. 

Heading into 2024, Pixar has two movies coming: “Inside Out 2” this June and “Elio” coming out about a year later in 2025. While “Inside Out” will have momentum from the first film, Pixar must ensure they stay true to the franchise. They tried something new with “Lightyear,” which ended in disaster. 

“Elio” is going to be more of an uphill battle. Disney tried to do a science fiction story with “Strange World,” which also cost them many losses. 

Pixar films are very expensive

One problem that industry experts cite is the bloated budgets of Pixar films compared to other studios. From the time the film hits theaters, the amount it needs to earn to break even or profit is already much higher than their competitors.  

It’s also been observed that Disney doesn’t necessarily need two studios and could merge both under a Disney Pixar brand. But that might be something they save for later if they need even further cuts.

What we do know for sure is that cuts are coming to Pixar. 

What do you think? Comment and let us know!