As part of cost-saving measures, MGM has cut down its staff by 7%, in addition to mandating pay cuts for its top-level staff.

MGM has laid off approximately 50 individuals from its assorted divisions, according to Deadline. MGM's sibling company, United Artists Releasing, has also had to reduce its workload. However, United Artists has chosen to furlough its workers rather than sever them. Currently, the plan is to bring these United Artists employees back when the division resumes releasing films. These cuts come as a result of MGM and United Artists cutting costs while the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic ravages the film industry.

RELATED: MGM Targeted By Apple, Netflix For Takeover Bid

The effects of the health crisis are so severe that even the highest-ranking figures at MGM and United Artists Releasing are taking salary cuts. This comes on the heels of MGM delaying the theatrical release of its blockbuster No Time to Die to avoid its box office being hindered by COVID-19.

The company was previously enjoying a more positive kind of development: in March 2018, the studio began to distribute its own movies again independently with Death Wish (2018). Since then, MGM has managed to release two box office hits in the form of Creed II and The Addams Family. Meanwhile, at the start of 2020, MGM had hired a new chairman and acquired a swarm of high-profile projects, including an untitled Ridley Scott/Lady Gaga feature about the Gucci assassination.

Every Hollywood studio has been hit hard by the pandemic, with Disney furloughing over 100,000 workers. While MGM's recent steps forward aren't wiped out, developments like cutting staff slow down its momentum, another sign of this difficult time for the industry.

KEEP READING: Analyst Predicts COVID-19 Will Spell The End For Current Film & TV Models