Entertainment One hit by 20% staff cuts as sale looms

Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets production-distribution firm Entertainment One (eOne) is facing staff cuts of 20%, with the Hasbro-owned company seeking to pare down ahead of its potential sale.

A Hasbro spokesperson said the cuts are “part of the ongoing transformational changes… announced in January to substantially reduce costs and increase growth rates and profitability.”

The latest staff cuts come as part of a wider wave of planned redundances at US toy manufacturer Hasbro, which said in January that it would be letting go 15% of its global workforce – around 1,000 roles – this year.

In April, former eOne CEO & founder Darren Throop emerged as a potential buyer of the firm, which was put on the block by Hasbro last year, just three years after it acquired the TV and film company for $4bn, with Legendary, Lionsgate and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners among those also showing interest in acquiring the company.

Hasbro plans to retain key brands including Peppa Pig, Transformers, My Little Pony and Play-Doh as part of a strategy that sees it looking to sell off “non-core” elements of the business.

A 6,500-hour library is included in the assets up for grabs, as well as the TV and film divisions that have been behind shows such as Yellowjackets, Naked & Afraid and The Rookie.

Hasbro has had limited success in flipping toy brands into screen IP. Amazon Freevee ordered a family competition special, Play-Doh Squished, in 2021 and a scripted TV series based around the classic board game Risk was revealed in January of that year. Deadline broke the job cuts news.