Pixar Begin Layoffs In Wake of The Good Dinosaur Delay

Credit: Stitch Kingdom

After the announced 18 month delay of erstwhile first-time director Bob Peterson's The Good Dinosaur, Pixar have announced an undisclosed amount of their 1200-strong workforce has been laid off, to accommodate the schedule reshuffle. The layoffs affect less than 5% of the staff, says an L.A. Times source.

Director Bob Peterson (co-director, Up) was removed from The Good Dinosaur back in September, with the film subsequently being delayed from 30th May, 2014 to 25th November, 2015. The reduction in staffing seems logical, from a business standpoint, but is sad news nonetheless.

"At Pixar, we are constantly re-evaluating the creative and business needs of our studio," a Pixar rep commented. "With the release date change of 'The Good Dinosaur,' we have realigned our production and support priorities, which includes a small reduction in our staffing levels."

With story retooling being done for The Good Dinosaur, and Inside Out still a little while away from heavy animation, it's likely that the layoffs will largely affect technical/animation departments.

This move comes shortly after the shuttering of Pixar's satellite studio in Canada, between that and the lack of film being released next year, it's been a pretty dire time for Pixar as of late. It's definitely not a pleasant turn for the studio, but we remain hopeful, and wish the best of luck to all those who have lost a job as a result of all this.