Crisis at Disney: Pixar cuts 75 workers in new round of layoffs

The animation studio is in the midst of its second round of layoffs since joining the entertainment giant. The first took place a decade ago.

The crisis at Disney continues. The latest part of the entertainment giant to be affected is Pixar, which has cut 75 workers in a new round of layoffs, Reuters reported. The animation studio was acquired by Disney nearly two decades ago.

This is the second round of cuts to take place at Pixar in a decade. In 2013, the animation studio laid off 30 employees, recalls Deadline. It was the studio's first big wave of layoffs after merging with Disney in 2006. In that instance, director Bob Peterson was also let go after the release of "The Good Dinosaur," one of that year's most anticipated animated feature films, was postponed.

Pixar's second round of layoffs is also the largest the company has undergone since its merger with Disney. Just like the previous round from 2013, it affected major figures in the animation studio: Angus MacLane, Galyn Susman and Michael Agulnek all lost their jobs in May.

Pixar fires the people responsible for 'Lightyear'

These names may be unfamiliar, but they all did great work for Pixar. MacLane was the director of "Lightyear," the film based on the popular "Toy Story" character that turned out to be a box office flop. Prior to this, he had also been part of the production of other big studio hits such as "A Bug's Life," "Wall-E," "Finding Dory," "Coco" and "Toy Story 4".

Susman was also part of the "Toy Story" team. The producer worked, as did MacLane, on "Lightyear" and was always heavily involved in the franchise. She began her work in the audiovisual studio in 1995, the year in which the popular toy saga was released.

In fact, "Toy Story 2" achieved such success thanks to Susman. The Daily Mail unveiled that the film almost didn't go ahead when a worker inadvertently deleted all of the film's footage. However, Susman was working at home and fortunately had a copy of the material on her personal computer.

Pixar's advertising department was also affected by the cuts, and Vice President of International Advertising Michael Agulnek also fell victim this new round of Disney layoffs. A total of 7,000 Disney employees have been left without a job.