‘It’s brutal’: Cirque du Soleil cuts over 100 positions, sources say
ONE Cirque means over 100 lost jobs.
Cirque du Soleil, the city’s leading production-show company, has announced a significant restructuring across several divisions. Sources familiar with the layoffs say up to 116 positions across the company were eliminated.
Word came down swiftly early Thursday evening. Even some of the affected professionals scrambled to process the news. One former Cirque employee said, “It’s brutal, how they did this.”
Referred to as the ONE Cirque initiative, the drawdown includes the end of the Touring Shows Division (covering international productions) and Resident Shows Divisions (covering the five shows in Las Vegas), along with the dismissal of several management officials for Blue Man Group, VStar Entertainment Group (a Cirque holding that stages “Sesame Street Live,” “The Muppet Show” and “Paw Patrol”) and “other affiliates,” as stated by an inner-office memo issued by Cirque President and CEO Stéphane Lefebvre on Thursday.
The ONE Cirque restructuring follows the company’s closing of its Blue Man Group shows in Chicago and New York in November, while returning its BMG show to Orlando in April. Just before the holidays, Cirque also dismantled its Las Vegas fabrication shop, wardrobe shop and rotational crew.
Reportedly, in this latest round of cuts, Cirque is seeking $20 million in companywide cuts. The largest line item is salary, the first option for companywide downsizing.
Hearing reliably of significant executive and administrative cuts at Cirque du Soleil. More than 100 positions across the company, consolidating divisions in a new "ONE Cirque" approach (eliminating the hierarchy of the Residency Shows Division, Touring Shows Division, Blue Man…
— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) February 7, 2025
Lefebvre, installed in his position under the company’s new ownership in the pandemic reopening of November 2021, informed employees operating costs merited a “revision of our operating model.”
The aim is “breaking down silos between divisions and drawing inspiration from our best practices, in order to gain agility and rationalize our operating costs.”
Of the now-demolished “silos,” the exec elaborated, “These initiatives have led to a series of job abolitions, and we will unfortunately have to say goodbye to some of our colleagues in the next few days.” The scarcely applied “abolitions” is synonymous with “eradication,” meaning those jobs won’t come back.
The cuts are not immediately evident on what is staged in Las Vegas. “O,” “Mystere,” “Michael Jackson One,” “Ka” and “Mad Apple” will continue to run. No artists or technicians have been affected. “Ka” especially has been the focus of speculation it is on its way out. The show remains under contract at MGM Grand through November 2026.
The eliminated divisions are now headed up by Chief Show Operations Officer Duncan Fisher, former president of the Touring Shows Division. Mike Newquist, who held the position as president of the Resident Shows Division, is now chief revenue officer.
Amid the cutting and restructuring, Cirque continues to remind the public of the dire straits it faced during COVID.
All of the company’s 44 shows were halted in March 2020, and nearly 4,700 employees (95 percent of the global workforce) were temporarily laid off. The following June, Cirque filed for bankruptcy protection and terminated 3,500 employees already laid off.
In August 2020, a group of investors headed up by Toronto’s Catalyst Capital Group Inc. purchased, and also rescued, the Montreal-based performance company.
A company statement referred to Cirque’s “remarkable strides” since its COVID relaunch, bringing back shows and incorporating “cutting edge” technologies while expanding its range of performances.
“As we look ahead, we are focusing on refining our growth strategy, ensuring we stabilize and operationalize these achievements to lay the groundwork for sustained, long-term progress,” the statement read. “Central to this approach is a renewed emphasis on our core business, which remains the cornerstone of everything we do.”
Cirque stresses it is “resilient and deeply committed to serving our audiences and partners.” The statement referred to the launch of ‘Auana in Hawaii in December, and the opening of LUDÕ in Nuevo Vallarta and Alizé in Berlin this November. And “Ka” celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.
Lefebrve closed his message with, “I’m convinced that, with these changes, we will be in a beter position to face the challenges that lie ahead.” It sounds optimistic, at least for those fortunate enough to survive the arrival of ONE Cirque. But over 100 former members of the Cirque family are experiencing a different reality.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
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