CAA to Lay Off Dozens Amid Strikes, Majority Stake Sale Talks

Creative Artists Agency will bring down a small round of layoffs in the coming days, Variety has learned.

The top talent firm, home to representatives for the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Tom Cruise, will axe around 60 jobs across multiple departments, insiders familiar with the agency said. While the staff cuts come in the midst of two grueling Hollywood union strikes, one of the insiders said lay offs were being considered months before the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA hit the picket lines.

The town has been bracing for right-sizing at CAA for some time, since its 2022 acquisition of its smaller rival ICM Partners. The number of pink slips represents a small portion of CAAs worldwide employee headcount, said sources.

Every corner of the talent representation industry including management and publicity firms have been bracing for the impact of strike-related work stoppages. On a Tuesday quarterly earnings call for Endeavor, the parent company of CAA competitor WME, CFO Jason Lublin estimated that prolonged strikes would lose his company around $25 million per month. With commissions on writers and actors drying up, the effect could be dire on boutique shops that dont enjoy the diversification of the majors, who also represent star athletes and musicians.

The agency is also in advanced talks to sell a majority stake to billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, who is tipped to take the company off the hands of private equity giant and current majority stakeholder TPG.

Deadline first reported the news of CAA layoffs.