Disney Gaming Arm Lays Off 10

It looks like the gaming arm of the Disney Company is going to have to cut back on workers in order to make ends meet. The company is only laying off about 10 people, but since they are all from the game development wing, a smaller part of the Disney Empire, these are actually significant cuts to the company.

Of course this is not the first time that the studios associated with the now iconic theme park has had to layoff in order to stay in the black. For those of you who missed out on our earlier coverage here is a look at how the company cut jobs before:

“Walt Disney Studios announced it is closing a studio in Marin County, Calif., which will result in 450 people losing their jobs over the next year.

The Los Angeles Times reports Disney is closing Robert Zemechis’ ImageMovers Digital studio to help reduce costs. “Given today’s economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences, and IMD no longer fits into our business model,” Disney Studios President, Alan Bergman, told the Times.

IMD produces motion-capture animation technology. It was employed in Zemeckis’ 2009 movie “A Christmas Carol.” According to the Times, the technology appeared outdated following the release of “Avatar”, which used more advanced technology.

Disney has been in the process of cutting costs in several ways, including combining operations and cutting overhead, the Times reports.

Walt Disney Studios announced it is closing a studio in Marin County, Calif., which will result in 450 people losing their jobs over the next year.”

The company only made a very vague comment to the cuts. In an official statement the company said the following:

“Disney Interactive continually evaluates its resources to align with the division’s goals and business opportunities. As part of that effort, Disney Interactive made targeted layoffs today.”

Disney also recently made cuts to its global development arena here is a look at our earlier coverage that will get you up to speed in no time at all:

“Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest media and entertainment company, announced a plan to slash about 14 jobs from its theme-park division as part of the companywide major restructuring scheme. Almost a quarter of the jobs from the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts are slated for cuts beginning in January 2011. The company said that about 14 jobs, including 11 in Orlando, will be eliminated from the estimated 65 staff of the global development group, the unit responsible for looking at the future growth of the company’s theme parks by evaluating whether capital projects would turn into profit.

Disney World spokeswoman Andrea Finger explained that the recent job cuts are being made to remove redundant positions in the company that started when Disney decided to combine its business development with its real-estate development departments in 2008. “This will enable us to better align our approach to business development across the segment, eliminate duplication of efforts, and streamline our decision-making.”