Lucasfilm closing Singapore VFX & animation studio after 20 years

Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) VFX and animation studio in Singapore, which opened in 2004 to work on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is closing.

In 2013, ILM joined Disney's Southeast Asia offices in the Sandcrawler Building which was acquired by the Blackstone Group in 2021.

A Disney spokesperson told local outlet CNA that ILM will be "consolidating its global footprint and winding down its Singapore studio due to economic factors affecting the industry."

The shuddering of the studio will impact around 300 staffers. Disney said ILM will "give employees as much notice as possible and offer opportunities to relocate to one of the company’s growing studios," and plans to host a local job fair "with companies identified as having a need for talent with similar skill sets."

ILM's headquarters are in San Francisco, with studios in Vancouver, London, Sydney and Mumbai.

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.

"The technical and creative skillsets of these employees — who are trained across roles such as designers, tech engineers and tech support staff — continue to be in high demand, both within the broader media industry and also in other industries that are going digital," they said.