The Los Angeles-based talent agency CAA said it plans to layoff about 90 agents and executives this week and to furlough approximately 275 assistants and other support staff.
The cuts will be made across numerous departments and offices in LA, Nashville, New York and London. In a statement made by a CAA spokeswoman the cuts were made in light of “greater visibility into the Covid-19 challenges of fiscal year 2021.”
CAA did say that the agency will continue to fully pay the health plan premiums for those being furloughed. Although the cuts were made in many departments the sports and music divisions are expected to be the hardest hit.
In April, CAA implemented proportionate company-wide pay cuts in order to potentially avoid furloughs, with top brass such as co-chairman Richard Lovett, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane pledging to forgo salaries for the rest of 2020.
In addition to the financial impact of the pandemic, CAA was involved in litigation with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) over the guild’s effort to ban packaging fees and agencies from having investments in production entities.
CAA is not the only agency experiencing losses during the pandemic, as WME said it would cut about 20 percent of its workforce as well.