GDH/Gonzo continues to trim down, in response to being on notice for a year by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Having recently been purchased by Iwakaze Capital KK, the company's restructuring is now well underway.
On Friday, November 28, GDH announced that it was asking 50 employees of the GDH and Gonzo divisions -- about 25% of the GDH workforce -- to retire voluntarily, effective January 31, 2009. Those who choose to go along with this request, and agree to it between December 1 and 12 of this year, will be given a one-time bonus, equivalent to one month's salary. While this staff reduction applies to the Gonzo anime studio as well as to its parent company, GDH, it is not going to affect the Gonzo Rosso online gaming division.
In another announcement on Friday, GDH revealed plans to sell another subsidiary, GDH Capital. This financing arm of the company was established only three years ago. But since it was worth about US $3 million in 2005, and is now worth US $2.
2 million, GDH seems to have decided that it's a good time to get out of the financing business, considering the current world economic situation.
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I wonder if some people going to use this to illustrate the damaging force of illegal digital copies responsible for anime industry woes. I do really wonder.
Well I hated Gonzo for some really lame anime series but they do have good stuff like Last EXILE, Yukikaze and Blue Submarine no 6.
Looks like the economic problem is biting very hard.
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