Lucasfilm/ILM Is Ending Its Animation And VFX Operations In Singapore, Where The Studio Produced ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’

Lucasfilm is shutting down its animation and vfx operations in Singapore after nearly two decades in the country where main production was handled for the iconic animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

In a statement, the Disney-owned company said, “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.”

In February of this year, Disney announced it was planning to eliminate 7,000 jobs from its global workforce in an effort to cut $5.5 billion in costs. Shutting down the Singapore studios will affect about 300 employees according to Singapore news outlet CNA.

According to the company, ILM made the announcement now to give its employees as much time as possible to look for other work. It’s also offering relocation opportunities. ILM currently has studios in Vancouver, London, Sydney, Mumbai, and San Francisco.

ILM also indicated it will be working with local agencies including Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to host a job fair for companies looking to fill vacancies with employees that have skillsets like those of the

In Tuesday’s release, ILM said:

We would like to thank the Singapore Government, industry, and community for their partnership over the past 17 years. We have been able to train and employ a generation of production talent, visual effects artists, and animators. We are very proud of the incredible work the team in Singapore has accomplished and look forward to providing new opportunities for Singapore talent to continue the innovative work they are doing.

In a separate statement, the EDB and IMDA added:

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.

Lucasfilm’s Singapore operations began as Lucasfilm Animation Singapore in 2004, working on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. ILM launched its Singapore operations two years later, in 2006, as the first international ILM studio. In 2013, the company moved into the Eclipse Building, frequently referred to as the Sandcrawler building, in the Fusionopolis cluster in Buona Vista. In 2021, Lucasfilm sold the building to Blackstone.