Lionsgate hit a layoff on Thursday as 50 staff, or about 5% of its workforce, was let go.
The company endured layoffs earlier this year, resulting in 5% of workers being removed from employment, representing a total cut of 13% over the past nine months. These additional layoffs are part of the company’s cost-cutting measures amid an “industry environment characterized by unprecedented changes and disruptions.”
“We continue to adapt our organization to these changes and compete to compete well,” Verheimer wrote in a note. “As part of this process, we split Lionsgate and Starts into independent standalone companies earlier this year. We continue to monetize our non-core assets, reassign resources to areas of growth in our business, reducing costs.”
He added, “These are difficult decisions that have made a valuable contribution to Lionsgate’s success with colleagues we have worked with for many years. We will make their transition as smooth as possible.”
During a memo on Thursday and calling the company’s latest revenue, Verheimer acknowledged some of the headwinds the company had endured while preparing to separate from Starts, but said “we are taking many important steps to return to solid growth in 2027.” Felheimer said these cuts would “substantially complete” Lionsgate’s recent belt tightening efforts.
“We may continue to fine-tune the organizational structure of individual departments from time to time, but today’s cuts will significantly complete the long-standing process of relocating the company for growth,” Felheimer said.
He concluded with optimism about the future. Already this year, Lionsgate has mixed box office revenue with the release of “John Wick” spinoff “Balerina” and the dystopian thriller “The Long Walk.” On the horizon is Aziz Ansari’s comedy “Luck.”
“Our core strengths remain the same. One of the world’s largest and most valuable film & television libraries, premium franchises, deep content pipelines and a portfolio of talented entrepreneurs’ workforce is second to none,” writes Vertamer. “We are confident that we will work together to continue to position ourselves for solid and significant growth over the next few years.”
