Sesame Workshop, Makers Of Sesame Street, Laying Off 10 Percent Of Workforce

Even beloved television shows aren’t immune to economic woes and changing habits.

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street, has announced that it will be cutting 10 percent of its staff. In a statement emailed to The Huffington Post, the organization said it’s “constantly assessing where we must invest for the future in response to today’s rapidly changing digital environment.”

“We remain optimistic about our future and remain committed to our mission of helping children reach their highest potential here and around the globe,” the statement reads.

This is the second time in as many years that Sesame has announced it would be cutting staff. The organization laid off about a dozen workers in May of last year, according to Deadline.com. The organization also slashed its workforce in 2009 by more than 16 percent, as the down economy led to a drop in donations and licensing revenue.

Though the cuts are unfortunate, Sesame told the New York Daily News that fans won’t be able to tell the organization is suffering from watching the show, as the stars like Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster will keep their jobs.

Cuts to Sesame Street are just some of the more tangible evidence of how the recession and slow recovery have hit the nonprofit sector. As late as 2011, 87 percent of nonprofit organizations said they were still suffering from the decline in the U.S. economy, according to a study from that time.