Layoffs have hit Fox following the entertainment company’s sale to Disney.
The staff cuts are hitting employees at the SVP, EVP, and president level. Senior staff is expected to be among the first to be impacted. However, the cuts will be deep, with the ax falling hardest of Fox’s film team. There could be as many as 4,000 jobs cut in the merger, according to some reports. On the studio side, the first wave of job losses is relatively small and targeted.
One of the most prominent names to lose his post is domestic distribution head Chris Aronson, a fixture at Fox, who was given his 60 day notice on Thursday. The blunt-spoken Aronson helped oversee the rollout of such Fox hits as “Life of Pi,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and “Kingsman.”
“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead the domestic distribution team, which I consider to be the gold standard in the business,” Aronson said in a statement. “While I am disappointed not to continue, I look forward to starting a new chapter in this business during this exciting time of change.”
Heather Phillips, EVP and head of domestic publicity, and Mike Dunn, president of product strategy and consumer business development, were also let go. Phillips was at Fox for a total of almost 10 years, over two stints, overseeing theatrical publicity and awards campaigns. Dunn previously served as president of home entertainment worldwide. He was seen as being a prescient leader at Fox, who was quick to understand the power of digital distribution. As an executive, Dunn helped bridge the divide between Hollywood and Silicon Valley, securing partnerships with the likes of Google and Amazon.
Fox’s marketing leadership was also hit hard. Pam Levine, worldwide theatrical marketing president, Kevin Campbell, co-president of worldwide theatrical marketing, and Tony Sella, chief content officer, have all be let go. Levine was previously chief marketing officer at HBO and had another stint at Fox serving as co-president of domestic theatrical marketing. Campbell was previously head of marketing for Amblin Partners. At Fox, he was very involved in the selling of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and its awards campaign. And Sella is on his second tour at the studio. His first one ended in 2013 after 23 years. His second kicked off in 2018. In between, Sella and Fox Network Group formed a joint venture, All City that created branded marketing campaigns.
Before joining HBO, Levine held several positions at Twentieth Century Fox, including nine years as Co-President of Domestic Theatrical Marketing, spearheaded the launch and growth of blockbuster franchises such as X-Men, Ice Age, and Night at the Museum. She jointly led marketing for over 140 movies, including The Devil Wears Prada, Walk the Line, Borat, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Marley and Me, The Simpsons Movie, Taken, and Avatar, the highest grossing movie of all time.
Julie Rieger, the studio’s chief data strategist and head of media, is among those pink slipped. She had played a critical role in building Fox’s data management program and was part of an effort to give the studio a better understanding of its customer base. Hanno Basse, chief technology officer at the film studio, has been laid off.
Andrew Cripps, president of international distribution, has been let go. He joined Fox in 2016 after a stint at Imax overseeing its international operations. Cripps also served as president of Paramount Pictures International.
Danny Kaye, the head of the Fox Innovation Lab, has also been dismissed. The lab worked with emerging technologies for production and post-production and served both Fox film and TV arms with programs like augmented reality.
Dan Berger, executive vice president of corporate communications, was among those laid off. Berger was previous head of corporate communications at DreamWorks Animation and held a number of senior communications roles at 21st Century Fox.
Distribution also appeared to be hit severely on the TV side, where longtime syndication vet and Twentieth Television president Greg Meidel was cut.
Meidel had served as president of Twentieth TV for nine years, heading up all first run, network and off-network programming and distribution for domestic syndication, media sales and the MyNetworkTV programming service. It was his second run at Twentieth, having previously served as president/COO from 1992 to 1995.
On the studio side, movement at 20th Century Fox TV appeared to be quiet so far, as staffers there are in the middle of pilot season.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety