WGA Strike: Studios starting to lay off people.

Entertainment: Finke thinks this stinks, but its all about business. I wouldn't be surprised if someone finds out the studios while unhappy don't see this as an opportune time to restructure the business.

But the depressing strike-related news continued Tuesday with a quartet of downbeat developments: Warner Bros. has notified the more than 1,000 employees in its studios facilities operations that an unspecified number of layoffs will be announced later this month. "It now appears that the WGA's strike will continue for the foreseeable future, and we must begin to scale back our operations due to the decline in production activity," WB said in the notice. Anschutz Film Group shingles Walden Media and Bristol Bay shuttered the majority of their creative departments and laid off much of the physical production staff as well. Exec veep of production Alex Schwartz was among those let go. Walden will retain the key players on its "Narnia" team. The Innovative Agency is one of the first agencies to make strike-related cuts. Over the past several weeks, the percentery quietly laid off seven employees from its staff of 65 in its Los Angeles offices. Scripted TV production in Los Angeles is down to a single show, ABC's "October Road." A total of 62 skeins have been shuttered due to the strike, with a direct economic impact of $160 million per week. The developments have come with the WGA strike in its third month and no new talks scheduled. More job losses are expected if the strike continues into February and March. The Warners layoffs were disclosed in a letter sent by senior VP Joann Black, who said the cutbacks would be effective on Jan. 18 and that the decisions would probably be announced next week. "We anticipate these cutbacks will be temporary, and that many employees will be called back to work once the strike concludes," she added. "We regret that we must take these actions; please know that we have delayed as long as we can. We appreciate the focus and teamwork you've all shown during this difficult time."