From the Montreal Gazette:
Britain’s Framestore Inc., a leading supplier of visual special effects and animation for the movie and TV industries, is setting up operations in Montreal and expects to provide 200 new jobs over the next three years. The project is being backed financially by the Quebec government with a repayable grant.
I wrote about this 3 months ago and pointed out that the reason for this move was because Quebec offers significantly larger subsidies than London. For every $100 in VFX salary paid there, the Quebec government offers $60 to the studio regardless of the amount of taxes owed.
Layoffs at Framestore London?
While things are looking up in Montreal with 200 new jobs, rumors are that 100-150 people at Framestore London may lose their jobs. I’ve been unable to verify the authenticity of this email which may have been sent out to Framestore London employees:
As projects approach their final weeks we have been reviewing the crew requirements for confirmed work in London. Whilst we are bidding on a number of projects we don’t expect work in London to pick up again until the Autumn so we need to reduce the headcount across all the VFX teams.
Following an initial review of crew schedules we would like you to attend a group meeting tomorrow at 10am in the Wells Street Cinema. At this meeting we will tell you more about the process we will follow to reach final decisions on which roles and individuals will be impacted by this and answer any questions you may have. There will be an opportunity for individual meetings over the next week or two but it is very important that you attend this group meeting. Your Producer and Supervisor know that they need to spare you for half an hour.
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