Starz to cut 10% of workforce & exit UK & Australia ahead of Lionsgate split

Outlander (Source: Starz)

US streamer and cablenet Starz is to cut more than 10% of its staff ahead of its separation from Lionsgate next year in an “organisational restructure” that will see it exit the UK and Australia.

The news was revealed in a memo to staff on Friday by CEO Jeffrey Hirsch, who wrote: “As difficult as it is, with many of our employees being impacted, we are making these changes to align our organisation with the growth areas of the business and to prepare us for our next chapter as a standalone company,”

Lionsgate’s plans to sell or spin off Starz were first revealed in late 2021, barely five years since the studio acquired the company for $4.4bn.

Final plans for the split were delayed until early 2024, following Lionsgate’s acquisition of Entertainment One and “uncertainties” surrounding the Hollywood strikes.

Lionsgate also previously revealed plans to pull out of Latin America by the end of this year, as it looks to scale back its international operations.

The company made an SEC filing in July in which it revealed that Lionsgate’s film and TV studio would become a separate company, while its media networks assets, including Outlander, Gaslit and Power Book unit Starz, would remain as part of the existing firm. The two will become separate publicly traded companies.

These latest layoffs come after Lionsgate revealed in February that it had “quietly reduced” its workforce over the preceding months, cutting around 150 positions and sold a partial interest in Dubai-based Starzplay Arabia.