Imagine Entertainment cuts staffers

John Grazer and Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment has let go five employees, including top production professional Jeremy Steckler.Cuts come just 2 days after Imagine reupped its cope with Universal through 2016 -- although the formerly exclusive pact was transformed to some first-look deal.Imagine prexy Michael Rosenberg stated the lay offs convey more related to the altering economic landscape in the industry and fewer related to the brand new deal. He added that although Steckler was an element of the lay offs, his contract was up over a couple of several weeks and both sides had made the decision to not extend it. Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com