Fox Is Excited For the Future With a New Video (And Lots of Layoffs)

Remember when Ryan Reynolds posted a pic of Deadpool wearing mouse ears to celebrate the closing of the Disney-Fox deal? Pretty funny! Anyway, thousands of people are getting fired. Now that the Fox-Disney deal is over and done with, Fox Entertainment has released a video celebrating their bright new future. One thing they left out of the video, though: layoffs have already begun.

FOX Entertainment’s New Chapter

I don’t want to rain on your parade – if you’re excited for the Fox-Disney deal, that’s fine! You’re allowed to be excited about the prospect of your particular fandoms coming together. And this Fox Entertainment video celebrating a “new chapter” is certainly highly-spirited and uplifting. This is all focused on TV-related stuff, so don’t expect to see footage of Wolverine high-fiving Captain America or anything of that nature. The intent of this video is clear, though: Fox is about to embark on a brand new journey, and they want you to come along with them.

Unless you work for them. Then you might have to pack up your desk and hit the bricks. According to Variety, layoffs within the hallowed halls of Fox have already begun in the wake of the deal:

The staff cuts are hitting employees at the SVP, EVP, and president level. Senior staff is expected to be among the first to be impacted. However, the cuts will be deep, with the ax falling hardest of Fox’s film team. There could be as many as 4,000 jobs cut in the merger, according to some reports.

THR adds:

Disney appears to be notifying staffers at the film studio department by department. Some employees are being told they will be kept on for a transition period, either three months or six months, a source says. It’s not clear how many will stay on with Disney permanently.

And according to the LA Times, “the company has said that it expects ‘at least $2 billion in cost synergies by 2021 from operating efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses.’ The bulk of those efficiencies will come through workforce reductions.”

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn and President Alan Bergman told staff to expect “quite a bit of change across our organizations,” which is a nice way of saying “We’re going to fire a bunch of you.” The duo also issued the following statement:

“Day-to-day, our top priorities remain the same: to support the great content we’re creating and deliver a superb experience to our consumers, and to continue to build an inspiring, inclusive environment where employees can bring their best to work every day.”

Anyway, time to celebrate! Unless you work for Fox! Then you should probably update your Linkedin account immediately.

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