AUSTIN, Texas — Popular Austin-based movie theater chain Alamo Drafthouse has started a series of layoffs impacting employees across the company.
On Wednesday, Drafthouse confirmed that 15 people were laid off at the corporate level. A spokesperson did not say how many hourly staff members at theaters are being let go.
The theater chain has 35 locations across 25 U.S. cities.
On Wednesday, KVUE spoke with an employee who was laid off.
“This is just shocking, and it feels it feels very – I don’t want to say dehumanizing, but it feels very horrible,” said former employee Lily Stone, who was recently laid off. “Alamo is one of those companies working there, having Alamo as a workplace, it’s one of those places it doesn’t feel like work because it feels like family.”
In June, Sony bought Alamo Drafthouse for $200 million. A spokesperson said the current layoffs are not tied to the acquisition.
The spokesperson claims layoffs at local theaters are due to seasonal fluctuations and are focused mostly on part-time staff.
Founded in the 1990s as a single-screen, family-owned theater in Austin, the chain has grown and experienced changes.
Alamo Drafthouse filed for bankruptcy three years ago, closing some locations and canceling plans to open new ones, before reemerging from bankruptcy months later.