Reportedly, the studio plans to fire around 70 people, 7.5% of its entire UK workforce.
DNEG, the renowned VFX and computer animation studio behind such notable works as the 2021 Dune, HBO's The Last of Us, Nolan's Oppenheimer, and many others, is seemingly facing an impending wave of significant layoffs at its London headquarters.
As reported by Deadline, the company has commenced a redundancy consultation process, anticipating the departure of approximately 70 employees from its main HQ in Fitzrovia, Central London. With DNEG employing around 900 staff members in the UK, these layoffs are projected to affect about 7.5% of their workforce.
The affected employees will come from various departments, including lighting, tech, and rigging. The cause behind these layoffs is believed to be the result of the global macroeconomic downturn rather than the ongoing Writers' and Actors' strikes.
It's important to note that the exact reason for the layoffs remains uncertain. Despite impressive revenue growth of 33% to $409 million reported in the full-year results up to March 31, 2022, the economic landscape has since experienced significant changes. As of now, DNEG has not yet released its full-year 2023 results, which might shed light on the underlying reasons behind this workforce reduction. The studio itself opted not to provide any comments regarding the layoffs.
DNEG, however, is not the first company to get hit by the wave of layoffs in July. Earlier, Microsoft also confirmed that it launched a new round of job cuts, a week after the start of its 2024 fiscal year, firing 276 employees from its customer service, support, and sales teams. And prior to that, Pokémon Go developer Niantic fired 230 of its workers, blaming the organizational changes and layoffs on a "tough market environment".
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