Layoffs hit Pixar due to ‘Dinosaur’ delay

This publicity image released by Disney-Pixar shows Arlo, a 70-foot-tall teenage Apatosaurus, and a young human boy named Spot in a concept art image for "The Good Dinosaur." Walt Disney Pictures has pushed the release date of the film to November 2015, leaving the Pixar cupboard bare for next year. The 3-D film had been planned to hit theaters in May before Disneys announcement Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. It means that 2014 will be the first year since 2005 to go without a new Pixar movie. (AP Photo/Disney-Pixar)

LOS ANGELES — Disney subsidiary Pixar is laying off up to 5 percent of its 1,200 employees after it pushed back the release of “The Good Dinosaur” to November 2015 from next May.

That’s according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter involved personnel.

The Walt Disney Co. released a statement saying Pixar is always re-evaluating its creative and business needs.

“With the release date change of ‘The Good Dinosaur,’ we have realigned our production and support priorities, which (include) a small reduction in our staffing levels,” it said in a statement.

The person said the layoffs occurred earlier in the week.

The delay of “The Good Dinosaur” means 2014 will be the first year since 2005 that Pixar hasn’t released an animated movie.