The impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Hollywood labor continue to take form as the number of SAG-AFTRA employees laid off crossed 100 this week, according to state filings.
Notices sent by the actors guild to the California and New York labor departments show that 108 employees — roughly 20% of its total workforce — have been permanently laid off, with 60 coming from SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles headquarters. The guild’s New York headquarters laid off 38 employees back in May, with an additional 10 layoffs expected by the end of this week.
The layoffs have been anticipated by the guild for months, dating back to the release of its annual budget on April 30. Expecting severe losses in revenue as the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down much of the entertainment industry, SAG-AFTRA leadership said that its budget for the 2021 fiscal year would “remove redundant positions” and furlough any employees whose work has been eliminated by production shutdowns.
A spokesperson for SAG-AFTRA said that the guild had attempted to keep layoffs to a minimum during the early months of the pandemic but was forced to make many permanent after a new surge of COVID-19 infections in July diminished the chance that productions could resume nationwide.
While some Hollywood blockbusters have resumed filming overseas and a limited number of film and television productions have tentatively restarted in some areas of the country, tens of thousands of SAG-AFTRA members remain out of work as the pandemic drags into a fifth month.
Layoffs are also happening at major media companies like NBCUniversal, which announced this week that it would cut up to 10% of its workforce. Creative Artists Agency last week became the latest agency to announce deep furloughs and layoffs, cutting 90 agents and executives while furloughing approximately 275 assistants and staff. Other major agencies like WME, ICM Partners and UTA have also announced layoffs earlier this summer.
Thom Geier contributed to this report.