After posting an $83M net loss in its six-month financial results last month, and a $136M loss for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017, Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp has begun a consultation procedure that could see the layoff of 22 employees.
The company said it had initiated the process with its employee representative bodies on January 11 to set up a new organization in France. If the plan is adopted, it would leave 57 employees. The move “corresponds to the needs of the company in France to carry out its strategy of refocusing on its core activities,” Europa said in a statement today.
Last year, Europa said it was realigning its content strategy to concentrate on the production of two to three English-language features per year, the production of two French-language features per year, production of English-language TV series and the distribution of films and international sales.
In November, it sold its French television division for $13M — a move that came after the exits of Chief Executive Marc Shmuger and Deputy CEO Edouard de Vésinne. Those moves were made amid the disappointing box office performance of Besson’s costly sci-fi epic Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets.
The $83M net loss Europa reported for the six months ending September 30, 2017 was attributed to the underperformance of its slate last year, largely anchored around Valerian, as well as the Tom Hanks movie The Circle and the period pic Their Finest. Valerian made $41M Stateside and $226M worldwide.
In December, the company said it was continuing its “actions to reinforce financial capacities and reduce overheads.” Besson’s next movie is the action thriller Anna starring Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans and Sasha Luss. The filmmaker became interim Chief Executive of EuropaCorp on January 1.