CAA Completes Round Of Layoffs – Update

Nellie Andreeva and Lynette Rice
·2 min read

UPDATED, 2:30 PM: CAA has finished notifying staffers affected by today’s layoffs, Deadline has learned. The total number is said to be about 60, in line with what Deadline reported Thursday. The departments impacted include TV Lit, music and IT. There has been a lot of chatter about layoffs in talent that remain unconfirmed.

We are still vetting the slew of names that are being circulated around; a large portion of the agents laid off appear to be junior, having a couple of years of experience or less as reps. We will update with any notable departures once the exits are confirmed.

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PREVIOUSLY, 12 PM: Layoffs are underway at Creative Artists Agency, Deadline has learned, with multiple departments making cuts.

As Deadline reported Thursday, the staff reductions, said to affect about 60 people, were expected to begin next week but were moved up to today after the news got out.

Rumors have been flying all morning about people and departments that have been impacted. So far, we have confirmed that there have been layoffs in TV lit as well as IT, which saw senior-level executives depart.

Melissa Orton, who has been an agent for 15 years, at APA, ICM and now CAA, is the most senior agent in the TV lit department that we know of as being part of the layoffs. Three junior members of the team, who all got promoted to agent in 2021, also are leaving.

According to sources, the trims are the result of a long process of examining optimal staff levels for each department that started months ago, before the WGA went on strike May 2. Still, the decisions were likely informed by the ongoing writer and actor work stoppages, which have had a serious impact on talent agencies and management companies.

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