Lionsgate has offered voluntary severance packages and early retirement to its US-based workforce, citing “a challenging operating environment”.
CEO Jon Feltheimer sent a memo to staff on Monday morning in which he wrote: “As we continue to move toward the full separation of the studio and Starz in a challenging operating environment, Lionsgate’s executive committee has approved a multifaceted strategic plan to enhance productivity and achieve greater cost efficiencies.”
The Lionsgate Studios business comprising the film and television operations and a library of some 18,000 assets merged at the end of last year with the special purpose acquisition rights company Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp. It carries an enterprise value of $4.6bn and is expected to separate from Starz by the end of the year.
Feltheimer also noted that starting on January 2, 2025, all executives at EVP level and higher will be required to work from the office five days a week. All other employees will be expected to be in the office at least four days a week.
The Lionsgate initiative comes amid a broad contraction in Hollywood triggered by the inexorable rise of streaming and the chronic decline of linear television. Corporations are also dealing with the fall-out from a slimmer production pipeline after the Hollywood strikes as they fundamentally restructure their operations.
In the past week or so, both Disney and Paramount have laid off staff. Some 300 US-based staff in Disney’s legal, finance and communications departments were impacted in the latest wave of redundancies at the media giant last week after CEO Bob Iger ordered heavier lay-offs across the company last year.
Meanwhile Paramount Global is seeking to lay off 15% of its US staff. It is understood last week’s cuts affected the streaming business at the conglomerate, which will merge with David Ellison’s Skydance Media next year.
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