Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast Corp, sat down with employees of DreamWorks Animation one week after his company acquired the animation company to dispel the fears of the staff over the merger.
To allay their fears about the possibility that the animation studio will leave its California home, Roberts said the animation company "will absolutely continue to make animated films here."
"That's the whole point of what we're doing," Steve Burke, NBCUniversal CEO and Comcast EVP added.
Together with Roberts at the meeting were Ron Meyer, NBCU Vice Chairman, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks CEO. The meeting was held at the Glendale headquarters of the animation company.
At the meeting, Katzenberg explained to his staff the reason why he decided to sell the studio which he has guided for the last 20 years.
"What became incredibly clear to me very quickly is the opportunity for this company for the next five years in their hands ... was just absolutely beyond anything I could achieve leading the company in that same time frame," said Katzenberg.
The acquisition of DWA which was announced last week raised concerns over the future of the studio when its CEO steps down as soon as the transaction is finalized. Comcast, the buying company, already has its own animation unit, Illumination Studios, which produced the successful "Despicable Me."
This unit is known for making profitable animation movies while effectively controlling costs. NBCUniveral, Comcast's Philadelphia-based unit, said last week that it is willing to pay $3.8 billion for the company that made "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek."
In 2015, after a series of movie flops at the box office, DWA had to let go of around 20 percent of its employees. It is no wonder that those who remained are concerned.
