• DreamWorks Animation has laid off 33 staffers, or around 2%, in recent days.
• Sources close to the studio said most of those cut were in tech roles.
• DreamWorks' parent company, NBCUniversal, has been laying off staff across divisions in recent months.

DreamWorks Animation — the TV and film production company behind family-friendly titles like "Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight" and "The Croods: Family Tree" — has laid off 33 staffers, or around 2%, in recent days. The cuts were confirmed by a spokesperson from DreamWorks Animation, whose parent company, Comcast's NBCUniversal, has eliminated roles across the organization over the past six months.

DreamWorks Animation said in a statement that the layoffs were part of an overall cost reduction and that a majority of those affected were in support functions.

About 25 of the 33 roles cut were in tech functions such as visual special effects and lighting. The cuts were unrelated to the writers' strike (animators aren't covered by the WGA). 

A separate person with direct knowledge of the layoffs said several staffers with job titles including production artist, technical director, and lighter/compositor were among those cut and that the round followed two similar, previously unreported cuts of about five to 10 positions each at DreamWorks TV late last fall.

This person said staffers laid off in this round learned the news several weeks ago, giving those affected some time to prepare. Their last day at the company came toward the end of April. 

They added that human resources officials had assured impacted employees the cuts were not tied to performance.

NBCU acquired DreamWorks — which was founded in 1994 by legendary producers Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen — for nearly $4 billion in 2016. The news of layoffs within its TV division comes as dozens of other media and entertainment companies face cost-cutting and headcount reductions during a difficult economic period.

Since late last last year, NBCU has laid off employees at E! Entertainment, NBC Sports, and on its ad sales team, as Insider has previously reported. The company's stock was trading at about $40 per share as of early May, down from a high of $62 in September 2021.

The sudden ouster of NBCU CEO Jeff Shell is giving Comcast an opportunity to reshape the company under President Michael Cavanagh, who has stepped into Shell's shoes. 

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