Dozens of jobs axed as visual effects company goes into administration

Scotland’s largest visual effects company, which has worked with Netflix and won an Emmy, has gone into administration, with more than 160 jobs axed.

Axis Studios, based in Anderston, Glasgow, announced on Tuesday that 162 jobs among its 166 workforce have been cut.

Administrators Interpath Advisory said Axis had struggled with a “high demand” for its services during the pandemic, but more recently had faced a decline in projects and an increase in labour costs.

Interpath Advisory managing directors Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs were appointed administrators of Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFC Limited, which both trade under Axis Studios.

While based in Glasgow, Axis Studios also has a presence in Bristol and has worked on a range of projects in the TV, film and video game industries.

After appointing administrators, the company had to stop all projects immediately as the employees were made redundant.

The administrators are now seeking operators to continue the projects.

Axis had been developing animations in Scotland since 2000 and by 2008, it had grown to become Scotland’s largest animation studio.

The company was a recipient of numerous awards for its work, including a Royal Television Society award and an Emmy.

Mr McAlinden, who is head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland, 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 video games 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.”

Mr Jacobs said: “Our priority is to give employees support in the first instance. We would encourage any party with an interest in Axis’s live projects to contact us immediately.”