14/02/2009, 03:31 AM
Quote:Financially troubled anime studio Gonzo is set to undergo massive restructuring, sacking 100 of its 130 employees, rather than the smaller numbers announced earlier, with parent company GDH mandating a return to profitability within 5 years.Source: http://animeanime.jp/biz/archives/2009/02/gdh14.html
However, they set the time frame for these sackings to “within 5 years”, perhaps indicating they are set after all on moving towards a heavily outsourced production style, rather than simply shedding employees as a matter of urgency (which it admittedly is).
All this comes after parent GDH’s call for 50 sacrificial lambs (from its own workforce) to volunteer for the block only resulted in 36 volunteers; this seems unconnected however, as the plan laid out at the start was for a drastic restructuring of how Gonzo produces anime, whereas GDH is committed to lighter cuts.
The precise details of their production plans are not known; they are said to be looking at more “casual” anime, as well as halving output overall though it seems unlikely this will affect the hit loli anime Strike Witches.
There are also suggestions of them producing more prurient works, if that is meaningful considering the content of Strike Witches…
OH SHI- Only 30 employees to remain. Kinda weird how a company so big back in the day is dropping to 30 people.