NBCUniversal slashes 10 percent of employees

NBCUniversal began its anticipated round of redundancies on Tuesday, reportedly impacting 10 percent of the company’s 35,000 employees, reports Forbes.

Laid-off staff are spread across the company’s entertainment portfolio, including its sports and cable channels, broadcast networks, movie studio and theme parks.

The move comes as NBCUniversal also fell victim to the pandemic and revenue plummeted to $6.1 billion in the second quarter, a 25 percent drop from the same time last year, as theme parks closed, movie releases were put on hold, and television advertising fell.

CEO Jeff Shell confirmed the cuts on parent company Comcast’s second quarter earning call.

However, despite the layoffs, Shell believes NBCUniversal television and streaming will start production on scripted shows later this summer and that, with sports coming back, the network will have a full schedule in the fall.