Pixar chops more than 100 Bay Area jobs as tech cuts jolt showbiz

EMERYVILLE — Pixar Animation Studios has announced plans to slash well over 100 jobs at the “Toy Story” creator’s headquarters complex in the East Bay.

In a fresh blow to the tech and entertainment industries, Pixar, a unit of Walt Disney Co., told the state’s labor agency that it would cut 181 jobs in Emeryville.

“After careful evaluation of many factors, Pixar has made the decision to permanently reduce the size of its workforce” at the company’s headquarters at 1200 Park Avenue in Emeryville, Reema Batnagar, a Pixar vice president, told the state Employment Development Department.

The job cuts will take effect on July 26, the company stated in the WARN notice on file with the state. Pixar described the job cuts as “permanent,” according to a post on the EDD web site. The affected employees are not represented by a union and “do not have bumping rights,” Reema Batnagar, a Pixar vice president, told the EDD.