Fact check: Wait, DreamWorks is shutting down?? What?? Upvote 8 Downvote Reply reply Award Share Share rebtilia • 8mo ago • Edited 8mo ago They’re not shutting down completely; They’re getting rid of in-house animation, closing their Redwood City office and laying off 500 people Upvote 13 Downvote Reply reply Award Share Share u/Rkas_Maruvee avatar Rkas_Maruvee • 8mo ago Which is heartbreaking, both because 500 people are about to lose their jobs and because it seemed like DreamWorks was in the midst of a Renaissance, letting their projects be less about making endless sequel money and more about art. Aside from KFP4, it's seemed like all of DreamWorks' A-list films of recent years (Bad Guys, Puss in Boots, and now The Wild Robot) have been well-received, gorgeously animated, and financially successful (though we obviously have yet to see how Wild Robot does at the box office). Upvote 18 Downvote Reply reply Award Share Share u/Purple_Quail_4193 avatar Purple_Quail_4193 • 8mo ago They’re essentially being gutted to ensure that the profit margins are the same at Dreamworks as they are at Illumination. Illumination which benefits from French tax breaks, recycling assets such as character models for each film, and processing less in the frame to save money on render costs. The crunch I heard about yesterday was sad. But considering it was because of pressure to not shut down the studio compared to crunch for Toy Story 2 or another recent animated film when the producers were interfering with the artists work at the last second after months of having nothing to do, it was a small cog in the problematic machine that is the animation industry of today

1. Summary of the results

DreamWorks is not shutting down completely, but is undergoing a significant restructuring. The studio is:

• Reducing its workforce through what they term "natural attrition," affecting hundreds of workers between mid-April and July 2024 ^[1]
• Cutting departments by up to 50%, with creative feature staff potentially being reduced by 40-50% ^[2]
• Not scheduling any in-house productions for 2025 ^[2]
• Moving towards a mixed-production model ^[3]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

This restructuring is part of a longer-term pattern, not a sudden development:

• The studio previously laid off 70 workers in October 2023 and 33 roles in May 2023 ^[3]
• There is historical precedent: In 2015, DreamWorks underwent a similar restructuring, laying off 500 employees and closing their PDI DreamWorks studio in Redwood City ^[4]
• The 2015 restructuring included reducing film production to two movies per year and beginning to outsource work ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement and responses contain several misconceptions that need clarification:

• The term "shutting down" is misleading - while there are significant changes, the studio continues to operate
• DreamWorks' characterization of these changes as "natural attrition" rather than layoffs ^[1] appears to be corporate messaging attempting to downplay the significance of the workforce reduction
• The discussion of a "Renaissance" period needs to be contextualized with the fact that the studio has been systematically reducing its workforce since at least early 2023 ^[3]

Those benefiting from this narrative include:

• Corporate leadership who might prefer to frame this as natural business evolution rather than layoffs
• Competitors who might benefit from perception of DreamWorks' instability
• Parent company Universal, which might be looking to streamline operations and reduce costs