Lionsgate disclosed as part of its third-quarter earnings for fiscal 2023 that the company "quietly" reduced about 150 employees, or ten percent of its workforce.
A person with knowledge of the cuts told IndieWire that the layoffs were distributed over the previous two months, rather than during fiscal Q3 alone. The cuts were across all of Lionsgate and not focused on one particular business unit.
Jimmy Barge, the Lionsgate CEO, concealed the news during his response to a media analyst's question about how the company is coping with corporate expenses ahead of a planned Starz or the Lionsgate studio split. The cuts were made through restructurings and managing open positions, according to Barge, which would help with managing costs across the board and also benefit the companies upon their separation.
“With regard to leverage, we’re in a very good position, you saw we de-levered a full turn this last quarter, and we’re in a good position to de-lever,” Barge said on a Thursday conference call. “We’ve done this through restructurings and managing open positions, so that bodes well as we go into ’24 for continuing to manage costs across the board, including programming spend, marketing, and G&A.”
Lionsgate had a good quarter, surpassing Wall Street expectations and reporting revenues of $1 billion; the business reported earnings of 26 cents per share. Part of the record-revenue surge came from the licensing of Lionsgate's film and television library, specifically "Schitt's Creek," as well as older films and shows to AVOD streamers.
Lionsgate sold a portion of its interest in StarzPlay Arabia for $43 million in cash. However, it did report a subscriber loss at Starz, some 700,000 globally for the quarter, many of whom were domestic subscribers. Still, shares of the company have increased by more than 5 percent in after-market trading.
With the upcoming "John Wick Chapter 4" prequel, "Are You There God?" and a "Expendables" film on the horizon, Lionsgate should be prepared for a big year. The Starz series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" has also been renewed.