Viz Media Lays Off Up to 60, Closes NY Branch

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Full story[quote="Publishers Weekly"]Viz Media, one of the leading publishers of manga in the U.S., announced a sweeping round of layoffs Tuesday that will effect every part of the company. Sources tell PW that as many as 55 people were laid off at Viz’]I think this is a wake-up call for anyone who thinks that we're not in trouble. If Viz can't do it right now, then things are pretty bleak. Print media as a whole, though, is in a bit of a rut. I hope that's all it is, and viz can rebound via digital distribution.

[mechana2015]

It also sort of depends on what positions they eliminated.

[ShiroiHikari]

I don't think this is cause for alarm just yet. If the New York office only had five staffers in the first place, then it probably wasn't all that useful. Every company needs to do some streamlining once in a while. I think that these layoffs say more about the state of the economy in general than they do about the manga industry itself.

[Cognitive Gear]

It's sad that people lost their jobs, but what ShiroiHikari said is true: This is more indicative of the economy than the industry itself.

This isn't the death of an industry, no need to panic.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

It also sort of depends on what positions they eliminated.

I If the New York office only had five staffers in the first place, then it probably wasn't all that useful.

Remember, it's not just the five in New York, but up to 60 people overall. Also, those 60 were 40%]This isn't the death of an industry, no need to panic.[/QUOTE]Of course, anime won't die: this particular occurrence has nothing to do with Japan. It is the U.S. market that I am worried about because I like how convenient and inexpensive anime and manga currently are. The Viz law-offs are just the latest in a worrying heap of incidents since the mid 2000s (see Geneon USA, ADV, Bang Zoom, Bandai U.S. etc.). The economy went south in 2008, but anime and manga have been on the downturn in The U.S. since before then.

[mechana2015]

The New York branch was probably just marketing and sales people, or contact people for East Coast clients. Yes, valuable employees, but not the people that translate and clean manga for production. I suspect that the layoffs at the headquarters were in the same vein. I'm also confused by all the uncertain terminology like 'it appears' and 'as many as'. They could have laid off a lot less people and moved a bunch of people, and without clearer information, it's not really that big a deal.

And so far Tokyopop seems fine.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

And so far Tokyopop seems fine.

Sarcasm?

You do know that 2 years ago they went through a massive restrucring and last year they lost their Kondansha licsenes and dropped a bunch of manga and light novel titles, while many more remain in limbo, right?

[Cognitive Gear]

Of course, anime won't die: this particular occurrence has nothing to do with Japan. It is the U.S. market that I am worried about because I like how convenient and inexpensive anime and manga currently are. The Viz law-offs are just the latest in a worrying heap of incidents since the mid 2000s (see Geneon USA, ADV, Bang Zoom, Bandai U.S. etc.). The economy went south in 2008, but anime and manga have been on the downturn in The U.S. since before then.

This is what I am talking about. The US manga industry isn't going anywhere. In an absolute worst case scenario, the companies that specialize in Manga will just get absorbed into the western comic giants, and things will largely remain the same for consumers. No need to worry.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

This is what I am talking about. The US manga industry isn't going anywhere. In an absolute worst case scenario, the companies that specialize in Manga will just get absorbed into the western comic giants, and things will largely remain the same for consumers. No need to worry.

I hear you, Cogs, and I think this seems like a plausible scenario]everything[/B]. So, maybe Viz is stepping back to step forward and will now focus more on quality of licenses over the quantity of licenses.

[mechana2015]

Sarcasm?

You do know that 2 years ago they went through a massive restrucring and last year they lost their Kondansha licsenes and dropped a bunch of manga and light novel titles, while many more remain in limbo, right?

And yet they still exist as one of the bigger manga companies. Restructuring happens.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

And yet they still exist as one of the bigger manga companies. Restructuring happens.

I know this will be a bit off-topic, but...

Sure, restructuring happens. No question. And yeah, Tokyopop will probably stay in the game, but I don't think they are one of the biggest manga companies in the U.S., though they probably round-out the top five. As of last year, Tokyopop does not have primary access to the three largest manga publishers and thus are limited in what they can bring over. Shogakukan’s and Shueisha’s best titles go to Viz and Kodansha’s best titles go to Del Rey. Those three companies more or less dominate the Japanese manga industry (at least the demographics that are important in North America). Even Square-Enix has a deal with Yen Press (although their most popular title is with Viz). I think Yen Press will pull ahead of Tokyopop soon, if they haven't already (if for no other reason than the Twilight GNs).

[TheSubtleDoctor]

A Comforting Update

[quote="Viz"]VIZ Media is in the process of refining its focus and is restructuring
to adjust to changing industry and financial market realities.

As part of the restructuring the company had to refine its workforce by
eliminating certain positions and making cuts in other areas.

We are of course saddened by these departures, and sincerely appreciate
the hard work, passion and dedication of those that have moved on, but
we feel confident that with these changes VIZ Media will be more
streamlined and able to withstand the climate of the economy at this time.

This restructuring was not insignificant]

[Chibi0saka]

Just so people know, the reason anime and manga licensing companies are having problems isn't because the American economy is poor but because, due to the avaliability of fansubs and scanlations, many anime fans don't BUY the anime or manga. So even if a series is really popular that doesn't mean they will make a lot of money off of it because almost all anime fans watch anime online for free (witch btw isn't legal )

[Fish and Chips]

(witch btw isn't legal )

[mechana2015]

http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=55580 the conversation you're looking for is in this thread. Please read all of it. Thank you, have a nice day.

Also, Crunchyroll, Viz and Funimation all show anime legally online. Check your facts.

[Nate]

Just so people know, the reason anime and manga licensing companies are having problems isn't because the American economy is poor but because, due to the avaliability of fansubs and scanlations, many anime fans don't BUY the anime or manga.

Oh, see, I was under the impression we were in a recession and the unemployment rate was really high and most employers were not hiring in an effort to save costs, which meant that most people don't have the money to spend on luxuries like DVDs and manga.

Glad to hear it was all just a dream.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

Of course, anime won't die: this particular occurrence has nothing to do with Japan. It is the U.S. market that I am worried about because I like how convenient and inexpensive anime and manga currently are. The Viz law-offs are just the latest in a worrying heap of incidents since the mid 2000s (see Geneon USA, ADV, Bang Zoom, Bandai U.S. etc.). The economy went south in 2008, but anime and manga have been on the downturn in The U.S. since before then.

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Wait...what happened to "Bang Zoom"? They're a dubbing company not a licensing/distribution company like ADV, Geneon or Bandai U.S. Check out the latest ANN Podcast and have a listen to the interview with "Bang Zoom" CEO Eric P. Sherman. He actually says that the company is doing well, and that only 8%]http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2010-05-06[/url][/color][/SIZE][/font]

[Nate]

I'd assume most dubbing these days is for video games, honestly. The games industry, even in the recession, is still doing huge business (despite whining about piracy and used game sales), and lots of games with voice acting are coming out. So yeah, I can see anime dubbing being only a small part of their workload.

[KhakiBlueSocks]

I'd assume most dubbing these days is for video games, honestly. The games industry, even in the recession, is still doing huge business (despite whining about piracy and used game sales), and lots of games with voice acting are coming out. So yeah, I can see anime dubbing being only a small part of their workload.

That's actually exactly what the CEO said--anime is not a big money-making draw for them as it once was once upon a time. If memory serves, he actually stated that in the early part of the 2000's, their anime workload was somewhere around 80%, but now it's at something like 8%.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][SIZE="4"][color="RoyalBlue"]Wait...what happened to "Bang Zoom"? They're a dubbing company not a licensing/distribution company like ADV, Geneon or Bandai U.S. Check out the latest ANN Podcast and have a listen to the interview with "Bang Zoom" CEO Eric P. Sherman. He actually says that the company is doing well, and that only 8%][/SIZE][/font]

(1) I made a thread about this earlier, see:

http://www.christiananime.net/showthread.php?t=55580 the conversation you're looking for is in this thread.

(2) The very notion that Bang Zoom is only dubbing 2-4 shows a year (roughly 8% of their total output) is exactly what I was refering to as a bad thing. That's not necessarily a scenario chosen by Bang Zoom, as I'm sure you know, but was one that was forced upon them. They didn't just decide to stop dubbing so much anime (Sherman himself said it's not his place to refuse to dub something because of its quality). The fact is that there isn't much they can dub. Not much is coming out and the few North American licsensing companies that exist and are not located in Texas are starting to put out sub-only realeses. This situation is what I was refering to as troubling.

That's actually exactly what the CEO said--anime is not a big money-making draw for them as it once was once upon a time.

Yes. This exactly.

[Yamamaya]

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Update on this: An actual quote from someone w/ industry connections. Here is what Zac Bertschy, ANN executive editor, says concerning the matter in the latest episode of ANNCast.

Viz cut 60%] down to the bone.[/I] The people that are left there, there's not many people left, and the people that are left suddenly have three jobs to do, which is pretty dire.

This directly relates to mech's earlier point:

It also sort of depends on what positions they eliminated.

[mechana2015]

Eh, until Viz announces they're going under, I'm just going to wait and see. ANN claiming they're in dire trouble from an unnamed 'insider' doesn't convince me much, especially since I've worked at a business that probably has had to do 60% cutbacks and reassociate the work, and that's still a sucessful venture. All that really means to me is that Viz might have overstretched their structure based on their perception of the market, and has now had to react to the realities of the market.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

EDIT* Removed quote
Totally agree with your later point, btw, though in regards to your former one, I do believe that the fans could do more than wait around for their favorite companies to die.

[mechana2015]

And what do you suggest we could do for Viz then, as fans? Buy more?

Sorry, as I mentioned, I'm in a cut back industry too so I really can't drop cash on top of Viz for just existing, and at most I'd be buying one book from them every 2 or 3 weeks anyways because, like many other fans, I have a budget and living expenses. (As much as I'd love to own all of one piece, that's gonna take a while to buy, even at 7 bucks a book.) Manga is a luxury item right now, so I'm interested to hear your ideas as to how fans can influence a company.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

And what do you suggest we could do for Viz then, as fans? Buy more?

Sorry, as I mentioned, I'm in a cut back industry too so I really can't drop cash on top of Viz for just existing, and at most I'd be buying one book from them every 2 or 3 weeks anyways because, like many other fans, I have a budget and living expenses. (As much as I'd love to own all of one piece, that's gonna take a while to buy, even at 7 bucks a book.) Manga is a luxury item right now, so I'm interested to hear your ideas as to how fans can influence a company.

I feel like there should be something more that we can do besides buy more books, watch their streaming stuff and encourage our freinds to buy instead of read scanlations. However, as you likely suspected, I don't really have any concrete answers. I mean, I guess a sort of cycle of the death of one company and the rise of a sleaker, smarter company will occur. I guess I just feel like more fans should take this stuff seriously. Two (smaller) companies have folded, and one has cut over half their employees. I wouldn't be as happy with a manga industry in which only 2-3 gigantic (relativly speaking of course) companies exist, with no room for smaller ones and their lesser known licenses. Can't have everything I want, tho, I guess.

[mechana2015]

PMed about thisI feel like there should be something more that we can do besides buy more books, watch their streaming stuff and encourage our freinds to buy instead of read scanlations. However, as you likely suspected, I don't really have any concrete answers. I mean, I guess a sort of cycle of the death of one company and the rise of a sleaker, smarter company will occur. I guess I just feel like more fans should take this stuff seriously. Two (smaller) companies have folded, and one has cut over half their employees. I wouldn't be as happy with a manga industry in which only 2-3 gigantic (relativly speaking of course) companies exist, with no room for smaller ones and their lesser known licenses. Can't have everything I want, tho, I guess.

My guess here is that we might actually be seeing the cycle you mentioned occuring inside a single company. Viz as we know it is probably going to 'die' and give rise to a different, sleeker smaller , more business savvy Viz, something we're already seeing with their intense focus on the well known and well marketed One Piece (manga releases) and now delivering probably the third best anime streaming site out there. They aren't out of the game yet, and the fact that they made these changes and still are maintaining product releases at all is a good thing. With Viz and Tokyopop cut back, there is now a possibility for another company or two to step in and take up some slack, distributing the risk further and allowing the industry to continue. Unless I missed something Del Rey is still around as well. I think there is enough momentum in the manga/anime industry that it can keep moving, as long as the right moves are made despite negative responses.

Also, keep in mind that this move came a little over a month before the financial year closes, so it could be a calculated drawback for financial reasons that could be rectified later with rehires and new positions, once they finish restructuring. I would bet though that they will be more cautious with hiring in the future to make sure that the positions are necessary and will benefit the company business model.

[Nate]

Update on this: An actual quote from someone w/ industry connections. Here is what Zac Bertschy, ANN exec

Stopped reading here.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

My guess here is that we might actually be seeing the cycle you mentioned occuring inside a single company. Viz as we know it is probably going to 'die' and give rise to a different, sleeker smaller , more business savvy Viz, something we're already seeing with their intense focus on the well known and well marketed One Piece (manga releases) and now delivering probably the third best anime streaming site out there. They aren't out of the game yet, and the fact that they made these changes and still are maintaining product releases at all is a good thing. With Viz and Tokyopop cut back, there is now a possibility for another company or two to step in and take up some slack, distributing the risk further and allowing the industry to continue. Unless I missed something Del Rey is still around as well. I think there is enough momentum in the manga/anime industry that it can keep moving, as long as the right moves are made despite negative responses.

Also, keep in mind that this move came a little over a month before the financial year closes, so it could be a calculated drawback for financial reasons that could be rectified later with rehires and new positions, once they finish restructuring. I would bet though that they will be more cautious with hiring in the future to make sure that the positions are necessary and will benefit the company business model.

Valid points, all. The moves that you mention Viz has made are the reason I was so surprised about the laying off. I agree that they have made some smart decisions lately. Unfortunately, I believe that the staff cutbacks are directly related to us getting only one episode of Cross Game a week =(. But, it's a sports show, so the sacrifice makes sense.

Del Ray is definately the "third player," though I've heard (from the newest ANN manga staff writer...can't think of her name) that they aren't as heavily involved as they used to be. Look out for Yen Press too. YP seems to be one of the few companies in the North American anime/manga industry that has been regularly expanding, both their selection of titles and their marketing.

Stopped reading here.

lol. What do you have against Zac?

[Nate]

Unfortunately, I believe that the staff cutbacks are directly related to us getting only one episode of Cross Game a week =(.

Um...I fail to see how this is "unfortunate." You...you DO realize that the regular broadcast schedule in Japan of anime shows is one episode per week, right? So you're basically watching it at the same rate a person in Japan watches it. I...I fail to see how this is unfortunate. You could just not watch it right now and then buy a DVD box set and watch it all at once if it's really so direly important to watch something faster than it comes out.

I mean I'm watching fansubs of Goseiger and Kamen Rider W and I get one a week and I've got no complaints.

lol. What do you have against Zac?

It isn't so much what I have against Zac, it's more what I have against ANN. Much of their reporting is shoddy, biased, and completely made up at times. I don't trust most of what I read from them]he admits it.[/i] Taken from one of his posts on the forum in a discussion thread:

"Congrats, you're now as condescending, pretentious and judgmental about this show as its harshest critics are.

And I include myself in that group, just fyi!"

ANN has a really good encyclopedia thing going (although it's certainly not completely comprehensive), but as a news site they're trash.