Entertainment Industry Layoffs – Signs of Wrongful Termination

The entertainment industry was rattled by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023.

According to Deadline, Amazon laid off hundreds of employees. ABC News and Walt Disney Co. are also reducing staff by 6% as of March 2025. 

Layoffs generally occur when a large number of employees are relieved of their job duties. There could be any number of reasons for layoffs:

• Budget cuts
• Loss of business
• Company downsizing
• Company realignment

While most layoffs are not personal vendettas by company’s against employees, it isn’t completely out of the question that a company uses layoffs as a way to wrongfully terminate an employee. 

Wrongful termination occurs when an employee is terminated for unlawful reasons that violate their legal rights as an employee.

Employees are protected from unfair treatment such as wrongful termination for many reasons, including:

• Race 
• Color 
• Religion
• Sex (this includes gender identity, transgender status, and sexual orientation) 
• Pregnancy 
• National origin 
• Age (40 and older) 
• Disability 

Wrongful termination could be hidden in potential entertainment industry layoffs.

It’s important to remember that just because someone is terminated does not mean they have been wrongfully terminated. Additionally, California is an at-will employment state, meaning employees can be terminated at any time with or without cause for legal reasons.

Let’s look at two situations and how they may relate to wrongful termination after entertainment industry layoffs.

Riley is an Indigenous American working as an assistant editor for a show. He is constantly late to work, spends time on his phone, turns in his work late, and has a general disregard for his colleagues.

During a round of layoffs at the company, Riley is relieved of his job duties. From this perspective, Riley was not a victim of wrongful termination. 

There are a plethora of possible reasons for his departure, but Riley was most likely laid off due to his poor job performance.

55-year-old Jillian, a development executive for a major studio, files a complaint to the company’s HR department after her colleagues joke she should only be a part of age appropriate projects. 

Jillian is let go after the studio makes several layoffs. The reason given is company downsizing, but Jillian’s HR issue was never addressed.

Jillian may have been wrongfully terminated.

How can Jillian support this claim? Evidence is one of the best samples.

Possible examples of evidence might include:

• Emails between Jillian and their company or HR regarding issues
• Text messages with the aforementioned groups
• Employee track record

Retaliation is another layer an employer may add to wrongfully terminate someone. 

Retaliation occurs when an employee is punished for engaging in a legally protected act. Examples of retaliation include:

• Termination
• Demotion
• Pay reduction
• Unwillingly transferred to another position or location

Imagine Jillian’s situation changes a bit, and her boss meets with her about the HR call. The boss lets Jillian know that they were warned about possible repercussions for allowing her colleagues to discriminate.

A few weeks later, Jillian is let go off during a mass round of entertainment industry layoffs.

There’s a strong possibility she was terminated as a form of retaliation for contacting HR. 

Entertainment industry layoffs will no doubt have an adverse effect on those released. While most will be terminated for legal reasons, those who aren’t should seek legal help.

At C&B Law Group, our team of employment attorneys can help determine if you have a case for wrongful termination. We will carefully examine all evidence available to discover if there is a potential claim. 

The LA lawyers at C&B Law Group have recovered millions of dollars for clients.

Companies using mass layoffs as an excuse to discriminate and wrongfully terminate employees is not only wrong, it’s illegal. 

If you believe you were wrongfully terminated as part of company-wide layoffs in the entertainment industry, contact our Los Angeles wrongful termination attorneys today. 

Your initial consultation with us is free. Reach out to our team today.