ALMOST all jobs have been lost as one of Scotland’s largest animation studios has gone into administration.
More than 160 staff members at the Glasgow-based Axis Studios have been made redundant as administrators were appointed on Monday.
The animation and visual effects firm had produced content for some of the biggest international streaming services including Disney and Netflix.
The award-winning company had been brought in by Sony Pictures to create photo-real environments, vehicles and weather effects for the 2022 feature film A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks.
Axis Studios had received £250,000 of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding from Scottish Enterprise in 2017.
It also employed 166 people which a small number will be retained as the firm winds down.
The audio and visual company had reportedly suffered from a “decline in business and higher labour costs”.
The company had developed animations for 24 years and was recognised with numerous awards.
Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators to Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFX Limited, both trading as Axis Studios.
McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland and joint administrator, said: “It is a great shame to see a creative business in Scotland close its doors.
“Axis has been a studio of choice for key production companies and has produced content for household names such as the BBC, Netflix and Blizzard Entertainment.
“The company experienced a high demand for its services during Covid as animation and visual effects for TV, film and videogames skyrocketed.
“Unfortunately, however, Axis has more recently been impacted by a decline in customer projects, as well as increases in labour costs which have resulted in severe cash flow problems.
“The directors worked tirelessly to explore alternative solutions, but ultimately had to take the difficult decision to seek the appointment of administrators.”
Geoff Jacobs, joint administrator, added: “Our priority is to give employees support in the first instance.
“We would encourage any party with an interest in Axis’ live projects to contact us immediately.”
