Disney notified California officials of more than 100 job cuts using Pixar-branded letterhead featuring Mrs. Incredible, according to a report that quickly drew attention online.
The company issued a permanent layoff notice affecting 108 workers on Wednesday, with public Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings listing September 26 as the employees’ final day.
WARN laws require large employers to give advance notice to state officials when qualifying mass layoffs or plant closures are planned.
This week’s filing shows the reductions hit Pixar’s Emeryville studio in California. Of the 108 employees affected, 71 were listed as working in arts, entertainment and recreation.
SF Gate first obtained a copy of the notice, which revealed the comical letterhead that replaced the ‘I’ in Pixar with a silhouette of Mrs Incredible in her famous hands-on-hips position.
The unusual notice sparked a wave of reaction on social media. One user questioned whether it was simply the company’s standard letterhead, then added: “They’re laying people off while Disney and Pixar are raking in billions. The rich need more money, I guess.”
Another commenter wondered whether the design was a subtle “wink” to people familiar with the circumstances, apparently pointing to Pixar’s upcoming Incredibles 3, which is slated for release in 2028.
The layoffs follow a period of major box-office success for Pixar, including the continued strength of the Toy Story franchise, whose most recent released installment, Toy Story 4, topped $1 billion worldwide.
Pixar sent a notice about layoffs using a letterhead that replaced the “I” with Mrs. Incredible
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro implemented a ‘One Disney’ initiative. He said in a memo earlier this year that executives were attempting to ‘streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney’
The layoffs come after a massive much-needed win for Pixar with the box office hit, Toy Story 5
The Walt Disney Company did not respond to a request for comment by SF Gate. The Daily Mail has also reached out to Disney for comment.
However, the first film Pixar released this year, Hoppers, underperformed at the box office.
A source with knowledge of the layoffs told TheWrap that the film’s perceived underperformance was at least partially to blame.
Hoppers followed the release of Elio in 2025, which clocked in at $154 million worldwide, less than its $200 million budget. Elio became Pixar’s second-lowest-grossing film.
‘These changes are part of our continual evaluation of how we manage resources and reinvest across the company as our industry continues to evolve,’ a Disney spokesperson told TheWrap.
Disney, which owns Pixar, has ruthlessly cut positions since new CEO Josh D’Amaro implemented a ‘One Disney’ initiative to condense operations.
D’Amaro sent employees a memo earlier this year warning of the layoffs, explaining that they were meant to ‘streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney.’
‘Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the company and have begun notifying impacted employees,’ the memo concluded, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The layoffs come after the Pixar film, Elio, failed to generate more money at the box office than was spent to make it
The Pixar film, Hoppers, was released earlier this year. A source told TheWrap that the film’s underperformance was part of the blame for recent layoffs
The initial cuts resulted in around 1,000 job losses. The layoffs have continued, with Deadline reporting that employees of National Geographic and ABC News have been hit.
ESPN also laid off several high-profile names, including baseball broadcaster Karl Ravech, NFL analyst Ryan Clark and reporter Tom Pelissero.
Clark sensationally left the NFL Live broadcast mid-show on Monday, writing in an X post that he asked if he ‘should be done now’ and was told ‘yes.’
