April is off to a bruising start for people working in Hollywood. Since the month began, two major studios and one of Hollywood’s most high-profile production companies have announced layoffs totaling more than 1,000 jobs combined.
The job cuts come at a time of great volatility in the movie and television industry, which is facing disruption from AI while also experiencing a rapidly changing business landscape and consolidation. Here’s what you need to know.
Bad Robot to cut jobs as it leaves L.A. for New York
The April layoffs began with an unexpected announcement from one of Hollywood’s most successful and high-profile production companies. On April 2, Variety reported that J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot Productions would soon begin downsizing.
Hollywood Reporter also reported the downsizing, citing a source. Fast Company reached out to Bad Robot for comment.
Bad Robot has been a Hollywood staple for nearly 30 years and has helped bring some of the most successful television and film projects to the screen, large and small. Its credits include Alias, Lost, and Fringe for television, and Cloverfield, Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek and Star Wars movies for the big screen.
While sources told Variety that the company’s downsizing was underway, it is unknown how many Bad Robot employees would lose their jobs. Layoffs are expected to be “across-the-board” rather than affecting any one division of Bad Robot.
One of the factors underpinning the downsizing is the fact that J.J. Abrams is planning to move Bad Robot from its current base in Los Angeles to New York, where the production company will continue to work on television and film projects.
