Glasgow firm goes into administration with over 160 jobs cut

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

Axis Studios, based in Anderston, Glasgow, announced on Tuesday that 162 jobs out of its 166 staff had been cut.

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

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Interpath Advisory managing directors Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs have been appointed administrators of Axis Productions Limited and Axis VFC Limited, both of which are traded by Axis Studios.

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

After appointing administrators, the company had to stop all projects immediately as employees were laid off.
Administrators are now looking for operators to continue the projects.

Axis had been developing animation in Scotland since 2000 and by 2008 had grown to become the largest animation studio in the country.

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The company has received numerous awards for its work, including a Royal Television Society award and an Emmy.
Mr McAlinden, head of Interpath Advisory in Scotland, said: “It is a great shame to see a creative business in Scotland close its doors.

“Axis is the studio of choice for major production companies and has produced content for big names such as BBC, Netflix and Blizzard Entertainment.

“The company has seen high demand for its services during Covid as animation and visual effects for TV, film and video games have soared.

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“Unfortunately, however, Axis has recently been impacted by a decline in customer projects as well as increases in labor costs, which has resulted in serious cash flow issues.

“The directors worked tirelessly to explore alternative solutions but ultimately had to make the difficult decision to seek the appointment of administrators.”

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