Disney made cuts across several of its divisions this week, and Pixar ended up taking the biggest hit of them all. According to a WARN notice filed July 21, Pixar is eliminating 108 positions at its Emeryville headquarters, with editors, technical directors, and software engineers among those affected. The cuts will roll out in phases, with most happening in September and additional rounds hitting in November, December, and January 2027.
Here’s the part that stings for fans. Toy Story 5 is closing in on a billion dollars at the box office, yet that success wasn’t enough to shield Pixar’s workforce from cuts. Insiders point to the underperformance of Hoppers as a factor, which brought in $389.5 million against a $150 million budget. Since films typically need two to two and a half times their budget to break even once marketing costs are factored in, that number falls short of expectations. Elio, Pixar’s release before that, faced a similar gap between its box office haul and its estimated production cost.
This isn’t the first time success and layoffs have collided at Pixar. Back in 2024, the studio cut around 175 employees, roughly 14% of its workforce, right as production wrapped on Inside Out 2. That film went on to become a massive hit, earning $1.69 billion worldwide, but the employees who helped build it were let go before ever seeing that payoff.
The cuts also fit into a bigger pattern under CEO Josh D’Amaro, who took over for Bob Iger this past March. Disney has trimmed jobs across Marvel Studios, its home entertainment team, and other departments this year as the company continues restructuring around what D’Amaro has called a more agile, tech enabled workforce. What do you think is driving these repeated rounds of cuts even after box office wins? Let us know in the comments!
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