Pixar’s Emeryville headquarters will shed 108 jobs by late September, a workforce reduction that lands amid sweeping layoffs across parent company Disney.
Public filings with California employment officials show the animation powerhouse plans cuts concentrated in creative departments. Technical directors account for 23 of the eliminated positions, while nine story artists also received notices. Most affected staffers face a September 26 exit date.
The grim paperwork arrived wearing an ironic flourish: Pixar letterhead featuring Elastigirl, the stretchy superhero matriarch from “The Incredibles,” dotting the company logo. That 2004 film centers on a family forced back into action after the patriarch loses his insurance job.
Pixar’s financial picture looks mixed. “Toy Story 5” continues to dominate theaters, pulling in close to $1 billion globally. Meanwhile, the studio’s earlier 2026 release “Hoppers” struggled to clear its production budget, a shortfall insiders say helped trigger the layoffs, according to The Wrap.
Disney’s broader restructuring hammers television and film units hardest. ESPN absorbed significant blows, including the departure of Karl Ravech, the 33-year “Baseball Tonight” veteran, alongside former NFL player and football analyst Ryan Clark. National Geographic reportedly suffered roughly 60 layoffs within Disney Entertainment Television.
Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney’s entertainment chair in March, framed the consolidation as a matter of integration. “Our greatest advantage is not any one business, but how our global businesses come together,” he told staff in a memo. “When our teams are aligned and working in a connected way, we can build on our strengths.”
The cuts signal Disney’s continued belt-tightening across its streaming and theatrical operations, even as select franchises deliver blockbuster returns. For Pixar employees, the coming weeks will determine how deeply the studio’s creative core gets reshaped.
