Rooster Teeth reluctantly announced that 13% of its staff have been laid off as of September 12th, 2019. That’s about 50 employees.
According to Deadline, the WarnerMedia subsidiary, Otter Media, which owns Rooster Teeth, has been going through a rough time financially. Otter also owns Crunchyroll and Fullscreen, and is part of the WarnerMedia brand after AT&T folded multiple media subsidiaries under a single umbrella.
CEO Matt Hullum sent a memo out to staff informing them of the downsize, writing…
“Hello everyone – Today has been a tough day at Rooster Teeth, and is unlike any other moment of organizational change we have experienced together. As we looked ahead at all of our upcoming opportunities and challenges, we had to make some difficult decisions about how we are organized. Unfortunately, this meant that earlier today we reduced the size of our team by approximately 13% overall. This decision is not reflective of anyone’s individual performance, and we’re thankful for all that our former colleagues have contributed. We will be doing everything we can to ease their transition, including helping them find their next opportunities.
“As discussed during your department meetings, our managers have adjusted their teams to meet the needs of our future. Our industry is evolving rapidly, and we have to evolve with it if we want to succeed. As we begin a new chapter, we have the opportunity to focus on what we do best: creating great content for our community and partners, supported by key lines of business including advertising, distribution, memberships, events, and e-commerce.
“We’ve accomplished a lot this year already: gen:LOCK and Immersion have both debuted successfully on TV, we’ve announced new content partnerships with DC, HBO Max and others, and we continue to produce the amazing programming that brings joy to our community every single day.
“We can look forward to more success along this path: continuing to grow our relationships within the WarnerMedia family and beyond, and finding new platforms where we can continue our pioneering creative work in gaming, animation, and comedy. […]”
The mention of gen:LOCK is interesting because according to someone who tipped off Clownfish TV, it was one of the reasons for the downsizing.
According to the rumors relayed to Clownfish TV from the insider, gen:LOCK was an over-budget, pet project by Gray Haddock, and that it didn’t quite turn the profit that Rooster Teeth may have been expecting. The show promoted many of the typical “diversity” tropes of the Left, so it’s no surprise that it was a flop.
Haddock, in turn, made it known that he, too, was one of the people let go in the cuts, making it known in tweets posted on September 13th, 2019.
You’re going to be ok. Have faith in what got you this far in the first place. Reach out if there’s anything I can assist you with, whether you’re just having a rough day, or if there’s any way I can help you network.
— gray (@graymartigan) September 13, 2019
Given some inquires, I feel I ought to relay I parted ways with RT recently. We’ve left the door open to the possibility of my doing creative work for them down the road. Meanwhile, I’m off to pursue new projects, and will keep you posted. I wish everyone in RTanim the best.
— gray (@graymartigan) September 13, 2019
As mentioned in the Clownfish TV video, the insider from Rooster Teeth informed them that the 13% staff cut that recently took place in September was preceded by more staff being laid off in March. There was no evidence for this claim, but back in May of 2019 a former employee did make a comment on Glassdoor.com mentioning that the company had recently undergone massive layoffs.
It’s interesting because the company was quick to virtue signal and cut ties with Vic Mignogna based on spurious allegations, but now they have to cut ties with staff because they’re in the financial gutter. Some are already saying that this is a potential get woke; go broke scenario in the making.
(Thanks for the news tip Reina Todoroki)
