Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit studio Aardman is the latest animation studio to see struggles in 2024, as it's cutting around 20 jobs after posting a loss in its recent earnings report.
That news comes from Deadline on Friday, which notes that Aardman is "in the process of making less than 5% of its 425 employees redundant." It's part of a cost-cutting initiative from management that comes in the wake of the studio filing its 2023 earnings, in which Aardman posted a pre-tax loss of £550,135 ($720,000).
That loss, per the report, largely comes from a £1.75 million impairment of unrecouped costs of 2022 animated series Lloyd of the Flies. While the series was "well-received," Aardman said in its earnings report, it was "adversely affected by current very challenging market conditions."
Sean Clarke, Aardman’s managing director, had the following to say in regards to the layoffs:
“It is no secret that the entertainment industry is going through much change and uncertainty at the moment, and we have looked to take a proactive approach that focuses on our strengths and allows us to address these challenges whilst continuing to develop and produce award-winning work.
“It is sad to say goodbye to any members of the team, but the changes that we have made will ensure Aardman is well-placed to navigate the current market and can look to the future with confidence – and several major new greenlit productions, which we will be announcing in the new year.”
The Deadline report notes that it's "hoped" that some of the individuals affected by the layoffs can still work with Aardman on a freelance basis.
More challenges in the animation industry
Aardman is unfortunately far from the only animation studio to be hit with turmoil this year, although much of the attention has been paid to U.S. studios. Multiple factors, including the bursting of the streaming bubble, rising production costs, and the increasing prevalence of AI have seen other studios cutting costs (and, of course, jobs) to adjust.
DreamWorks Animation cut roughly 70 jobs last year, followed by more layoffs a few months ago. Disney's Pixar, meanwhile, began layoffs of 175 people, or 14% of its staff, in May (you can read our in-depth report about how those layoffs affected employees who worked on the hit Inside Out 2 here).
As for the future, Aardman does have a number of buzzy productions in the pipleine, including Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Shaun the Sheep Season 7, and an Over the Garden Wall 10th anniversary special with Cartoon Network.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
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