Sony Entertainment Is Said to Hire Bain & Company for Cost-Cutting

LOS ANGELES â€" Sony Entertainment, under pressure to make its moviemaking operation more profitable, has hired Bain & Company to help it identify $100 million or more in additional overhead cuts, a move that would almost assuredly result in layoffs, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Entertainment.

These people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity concerning cost-cutting, said that Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Entertainment, planned to mention Bain’s involvement in the studio’s affairs at an investor meeting on Thursday at the company’s Culver City, Calif., film lot.

Charles Sipkins, a Sony spokesman, declined to comment aside from a statement: “As part of a nearly four-year process of increasing financial discipline, Sony Pictures is conducting a review of its business to identify further efficiencies. Our object is, and always has been, to operate an efficient studio that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on further growth opportunities.”

Mr. Lynton has worked to speed up cost-cutting efforts since the company came under strong criticism in the spring from the activist investor Daniel Loeb, who owns about 7 percent of Sony through his Third Point hedge fund. Sony has reduced spending on movie advertising, for instance, and in September fired its film marketing president.

After a dismal summer with disappointing returns for films like “White House Down” and “The Smurfs 2,” Sony’s box office fortunes have perked up lately with hits like “Captain Phillips” and “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2.”