MUMBAI: In a devastating blow to India's animation and visual effects industry, Technicolor India has left thousands of employees unpaid for February 2025 and facing profound uncertainty about their future.
During an online town hall meeting held presumably on Wednesday, a visibly tense Technicolor India head Biren Ghose delivered the shocking news, revealing that he himself and other senior local leadership had been entirely blindsided by the decision, learning of it only when they received an unexpected email from the company's global CEO that morning. (The townhall video has been leaked online on YouTube.)
Ghose methodically explained the structural relationship between Technicolor India and its parent company, emphasising that the Indian division functions exclusively as a global delivery centre.
"We operate solely as a production hub for Technicolor's international sites while Paris headquarters maintains absolute control over all corporate functions—finance, accounting, payables, technology, HR and all the backbone functions of the organization," he stated. This arrangement, he clarified, meant that "India works and delivers for our various global sites. They are our customers; they deal with our clients world over, we deliver to them, we invoice them, and they pay us," underscoring the fundamentally dependent nature of the Indian operation.
In what appeared to be an attempt to distance himself from responsibility, Ghose revealed that despite what he characterised as persistent, diligent and increasingly urgent requests to corporate headquarters for operating funds over a period of several months, the parent company has categorically refused to release any money to the Indian operation.
"Unless headquarters releases these funds, we will not be in a position to pay salaries or other dues which are quite significant across the company in India," he said. "We have all been impacted by this like everyone else on this call."
The immediate practical consequences for employees are severe and multifaceted. The company's offices have been rendered completely inoperative, with all staff instructed to work from home while protracted negotiations continue with landlords about the future of their premises. In a particularly distressing development for employees who left personal belongings at their workstations, they have been explicitly instructed not to attempt collection until further notice from the facilities team, who plan to coordinate access on a floor-by-floor basis at some unspecified future date.
In what numerous employees later described as the most contentious and troubling moment during the town hall, Ghose appeared to issue a thinly veiled warning against potential legal action.
"I cannot be held financially responsible as your management team and leader in India," he stated emphatically. "However, whatever action you take can work against finding any solutions through our conversations with clients and potential partners. I am not promising we will find any, but if you don't function as a team, we don't function as a team, we could drive away potential solutions."
This statement was widely interpreted by attendees as an attempt to discourage employees from pursuing legitimate legal remedies.
While repeatedly acknowledging the trauma experienced by staff and referring to the affected workforce as "best in class talent," Ghose offered little in the way of concrete assistance beyond saying the company's HR team has committed to providing documentation and support to help employees find new positions elsewhere.
"It is unfortunate that this has happened to the best in class talent," he remarked, in what many employees felt was a grossly inadequate response to their dire circumstances.
The abrupt cessation of operations has left employees not only without February salaries but also facing uncertainty regarding provident fund contributions, and other statutory entitlements. Industry observers note that this sudden closure raises profound questions about Technicolor's global financial health, corporate governance practices, and ethical commitment to its Indian workforce. The situation has sent shockwaves through India's animation and VFX community, which had long viewed Technicolor as a stable and prestigious employer.
For thousands of skilled professionals who now face abrupt career disruption and immediate financial hardship with no advance warning, the company's handling of the situation appears to constitute a significant breach of trust, leaving many questioning whether they will ever receive their rightful compensation for work already performed. Online chat rooms feature employees venting out their frustration at what they called being "cheated."
