http://www.cnbc.com/id/35189365
Sony Pictures Entertainment is feeling the pinch of online piracy and the decline of DVD sales. The movie studio announced on Monday that it will lay off 450 employees, or 6.5 percent of its workforce, and also plans to close 100 open positions. It will start handing out pink slips in March.
The layoffs are in addition to an earlier round of cuts last year of 250 people and 100 open spots, bringing the studio's workforce down to about 6300 from about 7000 before the financial crisis.
These job cuts are not attributed to the economic downturn, but to the movie's new economic model -- a less profitable one.
What does it all mean? Sony is suffering from the same issue which has pressured the entire movie industry: piracy. DVD sales, which gave the movie industry an unprecedented boost over the past decade, are suffering double-digit declines. Marketing costs are soaring. Social media is powerful, which means word travels incredibly fast, and even the best advertising campaign can yield a flop