CAA is about to implement significant layoffs and furloughs this week that will amount to as much as a double-digit reduction in the workforce at the Hollywood talent agency, insiders tell Variety.
Cuts are believed to be coming across the board, with about 90 agents and executives on staff facing pink slips and 275 support staffers facing furloughs in numerous departments at the agency and across offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and London. CAA called the cuts “an unprecedented and painful moment” for the agency and said the decision was the result of cost-cutting moves spurred by pandemic-induced disruptions in entertainment.
“CAA began working remotely earlier this year due to the pandemic. Everyone at the company participated in reducing compensation with the hope that we could keep all employees financially whole through the end of our fiscal year, September 30th, 2020. We are honoring that commitment, including for those impacted by today’s announcement,” CAA said in a statement. “Effective this week, approximately 90 agents and executives from departments across the agency will be leaving. In addition, we are furloughing approximately 275 assistants and other staff. The company will continue to fully pay the health plan premiums for those being furloughed.”
CAA’s sports and music divisions are expected to among the hardest hit, said another source close to the company.
Run by president Richard Lovett and managing partners Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd, the agency is hardly alone in confronting painful economic realities caused by the coronavirus — compacted by CAA’s ongoing loss of revenue from former writer clients, who fired them in an ongoing battle with the Writers Guild of America.
Upon initial virus lockdowns this spring, CAA instituted agency-wide pay cuts on a scale that impacted the highest paid first. WME saw a similar round of cuts thanks to the pandemic and larger issues facing its parent company, Endeavor. UTA was first out of the gate with pay cuts in hopes of avoiding layoffs, which have not yet been enacted in the shutdown, while ICM Partners laid off a nominal amount of support staff. Paradigm was pummeled by the shutdown of live entertainment and was forced to make deep cuts of about 250 staffers.
CAA is also wrapped up in costly litigation with the WGA over the guild’s effort to ban packaging fees and agencies from having investments in production entities. CAA like other agencies lost hundreds of writer clients in April 2019 amid the standoff with the WGA over the guild’s efforts to reform the rules governing talent agents who rep guild members.
Here’ is CAA’s full statement:
CAA began working remotely earlier this year due to the pandemic. Everyone at the company participated in reducing compensation with the hope that we could keep all employees financially whole through the end of our fiscal year, September 30th, 2020.
We are honoring that commitment, including for those impacted by today’s announcement.
But, with greater visibility into the COVID-19 challenges of fiscal year 2021, we have made the difficult decision to implement workforce reductions, in addition to our ongoing cost-saving measures.
Effective this week, approximately 90 agents and executives from departments across the agency will be leaving. In addition, we are furloughing approximately 275 assistants and other staff. The company will continue to fully pay the health plan premiums for those being furloughed.
This is a painful and unprecedented moment, and words are insufficient. Today, we simply say that we extend our sincere appreciation and deepest gratitude to our departing colleagues.