Sony Pictures To Lay Off Hundreds In Film, TV Overhaul

LOS ANGELES, April 9 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced its plan to lay off several hundred employees across its film, television, and corporate divisions globally, as part of a sweeping restructuring of its business, Xinhua reported.

The studio, with a global workforce of roughly 12,000, said the move is intended to redirect resources toward areas with strong growth potential, as Hollywood continues to reel from pandemic disruptions, labour strikes and production that has moved out of California.

The company is "aligning our organisation with where the business is going -- not where it has been," chief executive Ravi Ahuja told employees in a memo on Tuesday.

People familiar with the plan described the layoffs as targeted rather than a broad cost-cutting drive, as Sony refocuses on areas it believes can generate steadier returns: franchise strategy and brand extensions, experiences, next-generation and platform-native programming, and deeper corporate ecosystem connectivity -- including film and TV adaptations of video game properties.

Sony also pointed to opportunities in anime, where it owns streaming service Crunchyroll.

The layoffs add to a drumbeat of workforce reductions across the entertainment business as traditional revenue sources erode and production levels remain uneven.

The pandemic paused filming, slowed theatre attendance and accelerated shifts toward streaming. After that, the Hollywood writers and actors strike in 2023 halted much of the industry for months, then ushered in a cautious restart as studios and streamers reexamined spending and emphasised profitability.

At the same time, "runaway production" -- the movement of film and TV jobs to states and countries offering richer incentives -- has been a lingering concern for California, where soundstages, post-production houses and thousands of crew members are concentrated in and around Los Angeles.

Even though Sony's US-based headquarters will remain in the Los Angeles area, a growing share of filming, visual effects and other work will be done elsewhere where production costs are cheaper and heavily subsidised by government tax incentives, further reducing the number of local jobs tied to each project.

Sony's emphasis on game shows and franchise expansions could preserve some production activities typically based in Los Angeles, including long-running syndicated formats such as "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune."

Unlike several of its rivals, Sony does not operate a broad, general-entertainment streaming service, but instead sells films and series to multiple platforms and relies on deals with streamers and networks.

Ahuja told employees the company's "independent" studio model gives it flexibility to match projects with the right buyers, while Sony's ownership of anime and its ties to PlayStation and other Sony businesses offer additional paths for growth.

--BERNAMA-XINHUA