The Alamo Drafthouse theater in the Mission District last week shed some 10 to 15 percent of its workforce ahead of an anticipated slow winter season, part of national layoffs from the Austin-based theater chain.
The layoffs were seniority-based and affected a total of 15 people, according to employees of the Mission theater. Employees were told reduced profits meant the theater could not provide hours to the current number of employees.
The company, which operates 42 theaters nationwide, also shaved off 15 workers, or 9 percent, of its corporate-level employees located across the country, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
An Alamo Drafthouse spokesperson said that the layoffs in San Francisco were in anticipation of slow winter months ahead, while those at the corporate level were made as part of a larger restructuring.
Not all of the 42 Alamo locations are set to be affected by the workforce reduction.
Employees at the San Francisco location were told they could re-apply in the spring, when business usually picks up.
Alamo Drafthouse was acquired by Sony Pictures in June, but the decision regarding layoffs was made by Alamo, which continues administrating the business, according to the Alamo spokesperson. Neither Alamo nor Sony Pictures commented on the record.
“I could tell right away there was something up because of the way his tone was … very monotone,” said Viv Zhang, who got a call from her manager last Tuesday. “I remember my response was very much ‘like, this is very sudden. I don’t really understand. I was just at work last night.'”
Zhang said there was no indication after she left work last Monday that the layoffs were coming.
The call also surprised Jae Grotti, another employee. The job, he said, is one he really liked and one he had hoped to stay at for a long time.
Grotti’s friend first sounded the alarm via text around 10:30 a.m.: “Hey, do you still work there?”
“Yeah. I still work there,” replied Grotti. But not long after, his friend replied, “Well, I don’t work there anymore.”
“Literally within five minutes, I received a call,” said Grotti, informing him he’d been laid off.
Employees currently make minimum wage plus tips. When it’s busy, money is good, a couple of employees said.
“This time, there was no pretense at all. It was just ‘you’re hired and then you’re fired,’ which I can’t help but notice is right after the buyout by Sony,” said Joseph Robertson, who has worked at the theater for a couple of years.
Alamo opened its Mission Street branch in 2015, occupying the long-abandoned New Mission Theater between 21st and 22nd streets. The new owners renovated the marquee and repainted the theater’s towering sign, and were welcomed into the neighborhood on a block that had seen its share of derelict buildings.
“When corporations have locations in the Mission District of San Francisco,” said Robertson, “I feel like it would be best for them to adhere to the kind of values, labor relations and culture that we have here as workers.”
Kind of surprising since they’re in the middle of opening two new Bay Area locations.
Different markets.
“When corporations have locations in the Mission District of San Francisco, I feel like it would be best for them to adhere to the kind of values, labor relations and culture that we have here as workers.”
— What does that mean: losing money? That may be an accurate summation of the Mission’s startup culture, but I doubt Sony signed up for it.
I love Alamo Drafthouse and I’m sorry to see the layoffs.
BUT I’d much rather see them cut staff than close the theater.
Hello, another Alamo employee here – there’s a Marvel movie that’s projected to be selling out the theater in a matter of weeks and The Brutalist has kept the theater just as packed as the holiday season. They also announced they are opening two locations in the South Bay.
In the meanwhile they have left us understaffed and uncovered, without so much as a staff wide email. There’s absolutely no danger of the theater closing and you shouldn’t buy that line about business being down. This same company said that their LA employees were “essential workers” during the fires – and then proceeded to lay them off days later. They should be viewed with more scrutiny than you are currently giving them.
Yes, Alamo shows plenty of IP blockbusters that I’m sure carry the slower nights. Also, the ticket prices are pretty high as are food and drinks (which everyone seems to consume anyway).
Good luck, guys!
Yeah well maybe there is a reason that the guy who made that “Mission Values” statement makes minimum wage.
We as a city should expect profit-seeking companies doing business here to adhere to ethical principals. I make more than min wage because I have a union. Perhaps Alamo staff should unionize?
Slow winter season, eh? The showing of The Brutalist I attended there – in their largest theater — was packed.
The Brutalist was 30$ for a movie? yep fuck em if they go out of business.
Too many bars in the Mission.