Disney’s second round of layoffs began this week. As a result, two key divisions faced downsizing.
According to Deadline, 20th Century’s digital studio – led by EVP David Worthen Brooks – was dissolved. Brooks was not let go though. Instead, he will be transitioning into a new first-look deal at Hulu. There, he will work as an independent producer, and he’s expected to still continue to work on projects put out by 20th Century on that platform.
Originally known as Fox Digital Studio, it was inherited by Disney during the 2019 acquisition of Fox. It mostly produced short-form content from little-known and emerging filmmakers. If you’re familiar with any of Hulu’s Bite Size Halloween shorts, they were a product of that division. Last year’s Grimcutty was one of the few feature length projects to be overseen by this division.
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D23 was also impacted by this round of layoffs, but not in the way you might think. The team responsible for the biennial fan expo will still exist – and the fan event will continue to happen; however, it’s all being restructured.
Deadline says that layoffs in this department were only in the “double digits.”
Lastlt, Chief Product Officer of Disney Streaming, Disney+, Star+, and Hulu, Jerrell Jimerson will depart the company during this round of layoffs. He had been with the company since 2018.
It’s unclear just how many more rounds of layoffs there will be, but we will continue to keep you update as they happen.
SOURCE: Deadline
