Crunchyroll will be laying off a portion of its workforce as part of a restructuring shift, according to a memo from company president Rahul Purini. Variety reports that the restructuring is a shift of resources towards high-growth markets outside the United States. Purini’s memo to the staffers claims the restructuring is not part of a “cost-cutting measure” or “driven by financial performance.” While the restructuring will include job losses, several employees will be “expanding their scope,” and some will be assigned new positions. Crunchyroll’s job cuts will affect all 13 of its offices located across nine countries in North America, Europe, and Asia.
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Variety also reports that Crunchyroll currently has more than 100 open job positions globally and plans to add more roles in the coming weeks, despite recent layoffs. Crunchyroll intends to create new engineering hubs in the US, Mexico, and India, three locations that have experienced growth. The company also plans to grow its core anime business with collectibles and other merchandise. Crunchyroll has already announced Crunchyroll Manga earlier in the year, a new manga reading app for subscribers. The company employs over a thousand people, but the exact number of employees being laid off was not disclosed.
Is Crunchyroll in Trouble?
The restructuring memo comes a day after Crunchyroll announced a landmark collaboration with Delta Air Lines, offering anime to thousands of flights in the US. Furthermore, Crunchyroll has reported over 17 million paid subscribers. The company even recently announced that Hollywood superstar Channing Tatum will join the English dub cast for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle. Anime has continued to receive exponential growth, becoming one of the most-watched mediums on various platforms. These Crunchyroll layoffs feel shocking, especially since the anime business appears to be growing rather than slowing down.
Purini’s memo assured that the company’s restructuring isn’t part of any underlying problems and is simply a shift in priorities. It should be noted that corporate restructuring is not always indicative of a company’s financial situation. Companies’ priorities are constantly keeping up with the changing market and new demands every day. Sometimes these changes in priorities lead to changes in strategy goals, new market ambition, and, sadly, job redundancies.
However, these layoffs and global expansion have led fans to believe these are worrying times for the anime industry. Ever since Sony Pictures Entertainment bought Crunchyroll and Funimation, merging the two brands to become the dominant anime business in the market, many feared corporate politics and consolidation would cause more issues for the industry than help it. The primary concern is whether or not big corporations would dictate the direction of anime rather than creators or fans. Companies, in most cases, would often make pragmatic choices based on what would raise profit shares rather than what’s best for the industry.
Nonetheless, whatever the reason behind the layoffs, it is a small consolation for those affected by these job losses. Even if anime is experiencing a growth in the market, those who help deliver anime to the populace may in some cases not get the credit they deserve, and are under the whims of corporate decisions. Our thoughts are with the employees affected by Crunchyroll’s restructuring.
H/T: Variety
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