Crunchyroll, Sony‘s anime streaming service, is laying off a number of employees as part of a restructuring to shift resources toward high-growth markets outside the U.S.
The scope of Crunchyroll’s layoffs could not be determined. Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini announced the news Tuesday in a memo to staffers that was obtained by Variety. The business has more than 1,000 employees but has not disclosed an exact headcount number. Crunchyroll is making the changes to increase its focus on markets such as India, Brazil and Mexico that are accelerating faster than the U.S.
“As we look toward the next three to five years, we believe the right path forward is a new organizational model that supports regionally-empowered teams to lean into anime fandom even further,” Purini wrote in the memo. As such, “some of our colleagues will be departing the company, some will be expanding their scope, and some will be assigned new roles.” He said the layoffs are “not a cost-cutting measure or driven by financial performance.”
Job cuts are occurring across Crunchyroll’s 13 offices in nine countries in North America, Europe and Asia. L.A.-based Crunchyroll currently has more than 100 open job positions worldwide and expects to add even more roles over the next several months.
As part of the reorg, Crunchyroll is building engineering hubs in the U.S., Mexico and India, according to Purini. In addition, Crunchyroll will invest in growth opportunities beyond its core anime biz, such as in collectibles, other merchandise and manga.
The company is looking ahead to new initiatives and releases. That includes Crunchyroll’s plans to launch a digital manga service as part of its subscription tier later this year. In addition, anime movie “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” debuts Sept 12 in the U.S. and Canada, featuring Channing Tatum and Rebecca Wang as part of the English dub voice cast.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2025, Crunchyroll had more than 17 million paid monthly subscribers. Crunchyroll is a joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.
Sony in 2017 had acquired anime streamer Funimation. It bought Crunchyroll in 2021 for $1.18 billion in cash from AT&T and the following year folded the Funimation brand and merged the content into Crunchyroll.
Read Purini’s memo:
Team,
As anime fandom continues its incredible growth and Crunchyroll continues to deliver tremendous value to fans, we have taken a deep look at our organizational structure to ensure it can support that growth and our ambitions now and in the future.
As part of this analysis and subsequent changes, some of our colleagues will be departing the company, some will be expanding their scope, and some will be assigned new roles. These changes are effective today for those in the U.S., and the process in other countries will be managed according to local employment laws and timelines. We are sharing this information here, first, so all team members receive it at the same time, and we appreciate your patience during this sensitive process today.
I’d like to share the context behind these changes.
As we look toward the next three to five years, we believe the right path forward is a new organizational model that supports regionally-empowered teams to lean into anime fandom even further.
At the same time, Engineering will benefit from centers of excellence that create more alignment to spark innovation and fuel transformation. These new locations will be based in the United States, India, and Mexico.
We are also re-evaluating how to make our 360 fan experience businesses stronger than ever. They continue to be a strength and differentiator in the industry, and some re-imagination in these areas is important as we move forward. Our commitment to the 360 fan experience remains resolute and unchanged.
This decision is the culmination of very thoughtful discussions and planning with leaders throughout the organization and is not a cost-cutting measure or driven by financial performance. There is a tremendous opportunity ahead of us and these changes are about proactively setting up for scale and success.
To those who are leaving, I sincerely want to thank you for your service and commitment to our fans and our brand. You’ve contributed meaningfully to our mission and culture, and we will support you in every way we can through this transition.
I know this is difficult, and appreciate the space you will give for grace, respect and kindness to one another. We’ll regroup as a team at the end of the day and tomorrow morning to talk more about what this means and what comes next. I am confident we are well poised for Crunchyroll’s role in serving anime fans around the world.
regards,
Rahul
