20 Fired From Sony Visual-Effects Unit

Citing a lull in its film production schedule, Sony Pictures Imageworks fired 20 employees in its visual-effects crew. The Culver City firm--the 300-person digital arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment and one of Hollywood’s largest visual-effects shops--said the layoffs will affect all departments, with the largest cuts coming from its staff of computer artists. No other cutbacks were planned, officials said. Sony’s action marks the latest shake-up in the special-effects industry. In August, Boss Film Studios went out of business, laying off 90 people at its Marina del Rey shop.