Century-old animation and VFX company Technicolor Group is on the verge of a worldwide collapse unless it can attract new investors. At least, that’s the message the company delivered digitally to its global workforce ahead of a planned meeting with its French employees today.  

Paris-based Technicolor sent memos to employees in the US, France and the UK over the weekend, stating that the company had started the receivership process in France. This will affect not just parentco Technicolor Group, but also its business units operating in France: Mikros Image, The Mill France, Technicolor Animation Production and Technicolor Trademark Management. 

This process could potentially lead to a third-party buyer taking over the employees and assets of these companies—or a total dissolution of the entire operation. However, it won’t affect business at the moment, the company told French employees. “In practice, placement in receivership has no impact on the operations of the companies concerned, which continue to operate and pursue their contracts and commercial relations in the same way as before the receivership.” 

Multiple employees have verified the memos, which were leaked to Reddit.

Technicolor’s substantial portfolio includes work on Mufasa: The Lion King (pictured), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (both MPC) and Orion and the Dark and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Mikros Animation).

The past five years have been rough for the company. It filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the US in 2020, and then sold off and merged parts of its business two years later, shedding its Vantiva division that develops streaming equipment and WiFi tech. 

Despite these efforts to try and right the ship, Technicolor’s animation and games business reported revenue of US$316.8 million (€302.7 million) for the first half of 2023 (the latest data available). That’s down almost 26% from the same period in 2022.

In the UK, Technicolor is entering administration today (February 24). Interpath Advisory will handle the process for TCS UK (Technicolor’s UK arm) and liaise with UK employees. 

Technicolor Group attributed its “difficult operational situation” to post-pandemic recovery, a “costly and complex separation from the previous group” [Vantiva], and a slowdown in customer orders since the writers strike that has caused “severe cash-flow pressures,” according to the internal memo that was sent to staffers internationally.  

In the US, the federal Department of Labor requires a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice to be issued ahead of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs. According to postings shared on Reddit, a WARN notice was sent to US employees on Friday in which Technicolor said it hasn’t been able to solve its “severe financial challenges” through restructuring, securing new investors or an acquisition deal. 

In the notice, the company summed up its financial situation with a stark message, and told its US employees they might soon be out of a job. “If no viable solution is identified by the end of today, we will be required to cease our US operations as early as Monday, February 24, 2025.” Technicolor has more than 10,000 employees, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.