Hollywood Production Slowdown: Layoffs at Disney & Paramount

Hollywood’s 'Unhappy Ending': Why Production Is Plummeting in 2024

Major studios like Disney and Paramount face a stark new reality of job cuts, streaming losses, and a shift toward international tax havens.

Sofia Chen

Mar 15, 2026, 5:03 AM PT · 2 min read

On-location filming in Los Angeles dropped 32% as studios shift production to international markets.

THE RUNDOWN

FilmLA reported a 32% drop in Los Angeles production during late 2023.
Paramount Global laid off 800 staff members in February 2024 to cut costs.
Tyler Perry paused an $800 million studio expansion citing AI technology concerns.
Disney eliminated 7,000 positions in 2023 as part of a major restructuring effort.
International tax credits in the UK and Canada are luring productions away from California.

The "Peak TV" era has officially reached its "unhappy ending" as Hollywood grapples with a brutal market correction. According to data from FilmLA, on-location filming in Los Angeles plummeted 32% in the final quarter of 2023 compared to historical averages. Industry giants are feeling the squeeze, with Disney cutting 7,000 jobs last year and Paramount Global laying off approximately 800 employees in February 2024. These moves follow a grueling 2023 defined by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which halted production for months and reset labor costs.

Production is also fleeing California for cheaper alternatives. High tax incentives in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Georgia have lured major projects away from the traditional studio system. This "production flight" is compounded by the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence. The debut of OpenAI’s Sora has sent shockwaves through the visual effects community, leading Tyler Perry to recently halt a $800 million expansion of his Atlanta studio due to concerns about the technology's impact on future filmmaking needs.

Gregory Peck — Photo: Dietmar Rabich / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Streaming platforms like Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max and Disney+ are now prioritizing profitability over content volume after years of multi-billion dollar losses. Bloomberg reports that the total number of original scripted series is expected to drop significantly this year as studios move away from the "spend-at-all-costs" model. As mega-mergers continue to reshape the corporate landscape, Hollywood workers are facing a transformed industry where shrinking budgets and international outsourcing have become the new standard.