Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to lay off a few hundred employees around the world in a bid to restructure its business.
The cuts, announced Tuesday afternoon, will affect employees working in Sony's corporate, film and television divisions, the company said, without specifying how many would lose their jobs.
Sony said the cuts reflect a change in business strategy under its new chief executive, Ravi Ahuja.
“As we lean toward those priorities, we need to operate with greater focus, speed and alignment to strengthen our differentiated capabilities,” Ahuja said in a statement. “To support our growth, we are aligning our organization to where the business is going, not where it has been. That requires changes to how we are structured and where we invest.”
Ahuja, who was promoted just over a year ago, added that the company is “reducing roles in certain areas while increasing focus and investment in others that are more critical to our future.”
Sony plans to focus on franchise strategy and brand extension with game shows, as well as develop more anime, experiences and invest in content that will connect with a younger audience. This includes more game adaptations and increasing its YouTube capabilities.
One of the studio's biggest franchises is the “Spider-Man” universe, which includes both live-action films starring actors like Tom Holland and the Oscar-winning animated “Spider-Verse” films. The studio will release the latest live-action installment, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” this summer. The previous film “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was a big win for Sony, generating $1.9 billion worldwide.
Sony Pictures operates under its Japanese parent company Sony Group Corp, along with other subsidiaries such as Sony Music Group and Sony Electronics. The film studio was established in 1987 and maintains a strong presence in Culver City.
The studio recently acquired the “Peanuts” comic in a $457 million deal, revamped “Reading Rainbow” for a YouTube audience and is working on PlayStation adaptations for video games like “Helldivers” and “God of War.”
The company has also combined its game show group with its nonfiction television department and is slowing down low-growth areas of its business, such as visual effects and virtual production studio Pixomondo.
The layoffs are the latest to hit Hollywood, which has been hit hard by the exodus of film and television jobs to other states and countries, a reduction in the number of films released and media consolidation. Last year, Paramount cut 10% of its workforce after being acquired by David Ellison's Skydance Media.
