Bonnie Burton, the face and voice of Star Wars fandom (especially for females) has announced via her Twitter that they have laid her off.
She was the online contact with the fandom. The ways things have been going with Lucasfilm and StarWars.com, it almost looks like they are trying to do away with things that involve the fan community. It’s really hard to say what this move was all about. Bonnie was a huge asset to the company.
She wrote content for the website and handled social media. She was hired in 2003, during the run-up to Revenge of the Sith.
One thing that is for certain- Bonnie can land another job easily with her experience and her skills. In my opinion, freelancing is really where it’s at these days for writing and social media anyway. Companies are too unpredictable. You never know when the next one is going to go under, get bought out or just shut the doors. As a freelancer, you have the opportunity to make your own work and schedule. You can continue to bring work in from various clients even if one does not work out over time.
I think Bonnie will do very well with wherever the future takes her but with Lucasfilm laying off someone like her, it makes you wonder about where they are taking the future of the company.