Machinima laid off 13 of its 90 employees on Friday, just one day after securing $24 million in financing from Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The terminated jobs, which represent 14 percent of its workforce, are production positions tied to now discontinued programming which the company said was not supporting the “path to profitability.”
“We must focus resources toward high-growth opportunities,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement obtained by TheWrap.
Machinima has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs in recent years, but this is the first since CEO Chad Gutstein took over last March.
As TheWrap previously reported, the WB’s $24 million participation in the funding continues the relationship between the two companies, which has resulted in successful live-action web series including two seasons of “Mortal Kombat: Legacy.”
Later this year, Machinima will release “Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles,” an animated limited series from DC Comics and Blue Ribbon Content.
Read the full statement below:
“As Machinima positions itself for the future, we must focus resources toward high-growth opportunities. Toward that end, today Machinima released 13 production staff associated with Respawn, TFTW, and certain shows on Machinima LIVE as this content was simply not delivering the monetization that supports our path to profitability. Machinima is in development on its expanded 2015/16 original programming slate, details of which will be unveiled at its Newfront presentation on May 4. Separately, the company also has 15 open positions associated with programming, talent development, business intelligence, sales, marketing, product development and engineering.”