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Safely on the other side of the holiday season, when pink-slips tucked into stockings hanging above smoldering Yule logs would have put a further damper on an already gloomy Christmas in Hollywood (not to mention the SHITCAN CLAUS VISITS WARNER STAFFERS headlines in the trades that would've accompanied such a badly timed move), Warner Bros. has announced to employees that it will kick off the new year with a cheery wave of strike-related layoffs. In a legally mandated, but still heartfelt, letter to studio workers, a WB VP said that an unspecified number of cutbacks—the good news: they may be temporary! The bad news: Did we mention that "cutbacks" means we're firing a bunch of people?— will go into effect by January 18th, according to Variety:

"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."

As if this development weren't depressing enough, Var notes employee-reduction initiatives at Walden Media and Innovative Artists (and more are sure to come now that Warner Bros. has broken the ice—get excited), and adds the fact that there's only one scripted television series still in production in L.A. Please join us in issuing a resigned sigh as we helplessly await the faint sound of the 2007 television season's soul-chilling death-rattle immediately following the final take of an October Road location shoot.