Lucasfilm is winding down operations in Singapore after nearly 20 years in the country, with parent company Disney citing economic factors affecting the industry.
Lucasfilm’s visual effects and animation studio, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), has been operating in Singapore since 2006.
The studio was founded as Lucasfilm Animation Singapore in 2004 to work on the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In 2013, Lucasfilm moved into the state-of-the-art Sandcrawler building, named after the classic Star Wars transport that inspired its design. Located in Fusionopolis, this nine-storey building houses a 100-seat theatre and production facilities that cater to the company’s global production needs.
The building, which also houses Disney’s offices for Southeast Asia, was sold to the Blackstone Group in January 2021.
“Over the next several months, ILM will be consolidating its global footprint and winding down its Singapore studio due to economic factors affecting the industry,” Disney told CNA on Tuesday (Aug 15).
“ILM is giving employees as much notice as possible and offering opportunities to relocate to one of the company’s growing studios.”
In a joint statement on Tuesday, Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said Lucasfilm and the relevant government agencies are helping affected employees to find roles in other companies.
