The anime streaming platform Crunchyroll owned by Sony has laid off around 85 employees in different branches across the globe.
Crunchyroll offices in Australia, the United States, Moldova, France and Germany were affected by the layoffs. The engineering and marketing departments of the business appear to have experienced the vast majority of layoffs.
On 16 February, Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini sent an email to the staff informing them of the layoffs. The mail explains that the terminations were made as a result of the merger of the Funimation and Crunchyroll teams. The leadership of Crunchyroll informed employees during an ‘All Staff’ meeting that individuals who were laid off will continue to receive benefits during the severance period. As per reports, the choice was made to eliminate redundant roles rather than save costs.
On 9 August 2021, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and AT&T had announced that SPE has completed its acquisition of AT&T’s Crunchyroll anime business through Funimation Global Group, the purchase price being $1.175 billion.