VFX giant Technicolor lays off more than 200 workers in Culver City

Technicolor Group, the storied ocular effects, question graphics and animation institution down immoderate of Hollywood’s astir memorable films, is shuttering operations, including successful California.

The institution is laying disconnected 217 workers and permanently closing its Culver City workplace connected Lindblade Street, according to a announcement filed with California‘s Employment Development Department connected Feb. 24.

Technicolor, headquartered successful Paris, owns companies specified arsenic the Mill, MPC and Mikros Animation that person operations successful Los Angeles County.

The 110-year-old concern —which famously brought colour to the large surface — worked connected specified movie classics arsenic “The Wizard of Oz,” Disney’s 1940 movie “Pinocchio” and “The Lion King.”

In caller years, the institution attempted to pivot from its reliance connected movie to accommodate to the integer revolution. In 2022, Technicolor opened a sprawling field successful Culver City to grip the increasing request for integer effects from streaming services.

But the movie manufacture has besides been plagued by respective challenges, specified arsenic the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes and the emergence of artificial intelligence.

Technicolor Group Chief Executive Caroline Parot told employees successful a memo connected Monday that the institution has been experiencing fiscal difficulties, citing the pandemic and writers’ onslaught successful 2023 that lasted 148 days.

“As we person communicated implicit the past months, the Group has been experiencing difficulties linked to a assortment of factors and has not been spared from outer headwinds,” she wrote successful the memo, viewed by The Times.

The company, she told workers, hasn’t been capable to find caller investors and filed for tribunal “recovery procedure” earlier the French Court of Justice to springiness Technicolor a mode to support afloat.

Technicolor Group didn’t respond to a petition for comment.

The institution besides operates successful different large cities passim North America, Europe and the United States, moving connected media, entertainment, advertizing and games.

In the United Kingdom, Technicolor’s concern has been placed successful “administration,” a ineligible process for companies that aren’t capable to wage disconnected their debts, and 440 workers person been made redundant, the BBC reported.

Some studios person recovered different lifelines arsenic Technicolor edges toward the brink of collapse. Variety, which antecedently reported connected the memo, said that ocular effects artists astatine the Mill are teaming up with Dream Machine FX connected a caller task called Arc Creative.

“It goes without saying, the past fewer days person been filled with emotions: shock, anger, sorrow, concern, and ultimately, resolve,” artists who antecedently worked astatine the Mill told Variety successful a statement. “While the Mill arsenic we cognize it has unopen its doors, its spirit, its passion, and its bequest unrecorded connected done its astonishing and talented people.”

Mikros Animation, Dream Machine FX and the Mill didn’t respond to a petition for comment.

Technicolor Group has gone done respective enactment changes since its commencement successful 1915. The institution has much than 14,600 employees, according to estimates based connected LinkedIn data.

Technicolor emerged from bankruptcy proceedings successful 2020. Since then, it has sold disconnected parts of its business, including its postproduction portion Technicolor Post for astir $36.5 cardinal successful 2021.