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Lucasfilm's visual effects and animation studio in Singapore will close down in the coming months due to economic reasons, parent firm Disney said on Tuesday.
The Singapore studio was set up in the 2000s by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), which was founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas and is a division of Lucasfilm.
For years, its home in Singapore was the striking Sandcrawler building, named after the Star Wars transport that inspired its design. Lucasfilm sold the building in 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 said in a statement.
It did not say how many employees will be affected in Singapore.
Disney said in February it was cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide -- part of a reorganisation as its traditional television business erodes and in the face of stiff competition and eroding subscriber numbers for its streaming service, Disney+.
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"Lucasfilm's decision to wind down its Singapore operations is in response to changes in the industry and business conditions," Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in a joint statement.
"The global media industry is facing disruption from rapid technological advancements, while studios are coping with challenges relating to talent and profitability."
The Singapore studio was involved in high-profile Hollywood productions including "Iron Man", "The Avengers" and Star Wars films, according to the EDB's website.
Source: AFP
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