Fear and uncertainty are sinking in on the 20th Century Fox lot now that Hollywood has had a night to sleep on Disney’s $52.4-billion bid to acquire the media company’s prime assets.
Employees at 20th Century’s film and TV studios are wracked with anxiety over the prospect of layoffs — which analysts said are a forgone conclusion — according to nearly a dozen staffers and collaborators TheWrap spoke with on Thursday and Friday. Some factions of the business have gone radio silent to partners and vendors in response to the gravity of the situation.
For the Fox businesses that will remain under Murdoch family oversight, there’s less worry about downsizing because their spinoff venture will not face redundancy with existing Disney employees, insiders in the broadcast and sports divisions said.