Earlier today ANN reported word from John Sirrabella, CEO of Media Blasters a North American anime distributor, that 60% of there staff has been layed off. There staff previously consisted of 15 regulars and is now cut to 5 or 6 regular staff members.
The writing has been on the wall for a long time now with Media Blasters and one quick trip over to their official website is enough of a sign that they have seen better days.
Sirrabella insists that this is not a problem with the anime industry but simply a transition all industries are eventually going to take. That transition being to more heavy use of freelance workers over regular employees.
He goes on to state that none of Media Blasters releases will be affected by the staff cuts. They still intend to release Kite on DVD and Blu-Ray on the 28th of February and the entire first season of Squid Girl on March 13th.
