Animation company in restructure

Struggling Melbourne animation firm, Ettamogah Entertainment, is to restructure its business under a production consultant after it was forced to stand down the majority of its staff.

It follows media reports of staff claiming unpaid wages and superannuation entitlements.

The company is currently developing a 26-part children’s series Li’L Larrikins for Network TEN, which will continue production under a core team.

According to IF Magazine, Managing Director Leigh O’Brien wrote to staff on Monday advising, “We expect to know over the next two weeks what this structure will be, what departments and roles will be required and when they will restart.

“As previously indicated, we are in the process of refinancing pending receipt of funds owed to us, and our priority is to ensure that staff entitlements are met,” the letter said.

The claims on the group have reportedly extended to New Zealand where one company now says that it is still waiting for more than $30,000 in overdue payments.

O’Brien had previously told The Age, “If you’ve got budget overruns, you’ve got to fix it up. We’ve created 120 jobs here and trained everyone in animation and there’s no financial problems whatsoever.”

Ettamogah has also pledged to meet all outstanding staff entitlements, including superannuation.

The woes have sparked an investigation by Victoria’s Fair Work Ombudsman with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance and the Australian Writers’ Guild also representing unpaid staff.

Cherrie Bottger, Head of Children’s Television at TEN, said recently that Ettamogah had adhered to its expected deadlines for the scripts, and that nothing untoward was apparent.

Source: IF Magazine