Netflix has eliminated 50-plus jobs in its feature animation division, according to a new report by Cartoon Brew. 

The layoffs took place on November 1 and affected about a third of the department—mainly overhead staff such as business affairs and production management executives. Among those laid off were director of animation production management Liane Dietz, who had been with the streamer for around two years. Artists were not affected. 

Netflix is shifting its animated movie strategy to focus on delivering two proprietary tentpole films a year, according to an internal memo obtained by Cartoon Brew. The streamer laid the groundwork for this move last month when it paused two projects in pre-production, and did a deal to access Skydance Animation’s feature pipeline as a measure to keep its offering stocked up. Two upcoming features from the studio—fantasy adventure Spellbound and buddy comedy Pookoo—will debut on the streamer in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

In an earnings interview after Netflix’s Q3 report was released last month, co-CEO Ted Sarandos gave assurances that the company is still committed to animated features, in light of consistent demand from viewers for this kind of content.  

Indeed, the streamer has built an impressive track record with animated movies. Last year, it released The Sea Beast (which generated 165 million hours of watch time in its first month on the service alone) and stop-motion pic Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, which took home the 2023 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. 

Next up, Netflix is releasing a CG-animated family feature called Leo this week (November 17), and the much-anticipated sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget is due to drop on December 15.

Image Courtesy of Dima Solomin via Unsplash.