Disney to Cut Film Jobs, Produce Less Movies

Disney has announced their restructuring plans for the studio, which includes cutting 650 jobs worldwide and reduce their film output from 18 a year to about 12. The move is an attempt to put more emphasis on blockbuster franchise films for the family, like Pirates of the Caribbean.

According to Reuters, Disney's film division hasn't marked a profit increase in four quarters, and analysts have said that the company needs to boost the return on investment in its films. Sanders Morris Harris analyst, David Miller explained the move with this, "This is not a knee-jerk reaction to a particular movie," adding, "We would be willing to bet that there were months of analysis that went into this. What they are trying to do is get return on invested capital into the mid-teens."

One of the first people to get hit by the changes was Nina Jacobson, president of production at Walt Disney Pictures. BBC reports, Among those leaving the company will be Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group president Nina Jacobson, who had been in charge of live-action films for 10 years. In a quote from Walt Disney Studios chairman , Dick Cook, he said, "When we do it right, not only do moviegoers of all ages benefit from the finest in quality entertainment, but it lifts the entire company as well." In a report on MSN Money, Dick Cook declined to confirm if the Jacobson's departure was voluntary, but was quoted to say, "Sometimes these things just happen and it's time to move on."

MSN Money also reports, Cook said he had been mulling the reorganization for more than a year, and that it was spurred by the perception that the company had lost touch with the increasingly international marketplace for movies. The workforce reductions are to begin in a few weeks and supposedly they will last a few months. Dick Cook mentioned that the studio hasn't kept up with the times, "In a way we haven't kept up with the times ... and this was an opportunity to take a good hard look at ourselves and say, 'This is what we want to be when we grow up," adding, "As long as we stay away from bad language and sexual content (with Disney branded films), we can take the adventure and intensity up as we did with 'Pirates'."

[Additional Sources: Reuters, BBC, MSN Money]