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

Technicolor Group, the storied visual effects, motion graphics and animation company behind some of Hollywood’s most memorable films, is shuttering operations, including in California.

The company is laying off 217 workers and permanently closing its Culver City studio on Lindblade Street, according to a notice filed with California‘s Employment Development Department on Feb. 24 .

Technicolor, headquartered in Paris, owns companies such as the Mill, MPC and Mikros Animation that have operations in Los Angeles County.

The 110-year-old business —which famously brought color to the big screen — worked on such film classics as “The Wizard of Oz,” Disney’s 1940 film “Pinocchio” and “The Lion King.”

In recent years, the company attempted to pivot from its reliance on film to adapt to the digital revolution. In 2022, Technicolor opened a sprawling campus in Culver City to handle the growing demand for physical effects from streaming services.

But the film industry has also been plagued by several challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes and the rise of artificial intelligence.

Technicolor Group Chief Executive Caroline Parot told employees in a memo on Monday that the company has been experiencing financial difficulties, citing the pandemic and writers’ strike in 2023 that lasted 148 days.

“As we have communicated over the past months, the Group has been experiencing difficulties linked to a variety of factors and has not been spared from external headwinds,” she wrote in the memo, viewed by The Times.

The company, she told workers, hasn’t been able to find new investors and filed for court “recovery procedure” before the French Court of Justice to give Technicolor a way to keep afloat.

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

The company also operates in other major cities throughout North America, Europe and the United States, working on media, entertainment, advertising and games.

In the United Kingdom, Technicolor’s business has been placed in “administration,” a legal process for companies that aren’t able to pay off their debts and 440 workers have been made redundant, the BBC reported.

Some studios have found other lifelines as Technicolor edges toward the brink of collapse. Variety, which previously reported on the memo, said that visual effects artists at the Mill are teaming up with Dream Machine FX on a new venture called Arc Creative.

“It goes without saying, the past few days have been filled with emotions: shock, anger, sorrow, concern, and ultimately, resolve,” artists who previously worked at the Mill told Variety in a statement. “While the Mill as we know it has shut its doors, its spirit, its passion, and its legacy live on through its amazing and talented people.”

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

Technicolor Group has gone through several leadership changes since its start in 1915. The company has more than 14,600 employees, according to estimates based on LinkedIn data.

Technicolor emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in 2020. Since then, it has sold off parts of its business, including its postproduction unit Technicolor Post for nearly $36.5 million in 2021.