First published on LinkedIn on February 28th, 2025 – Reprinted/reposted/reblogged here with the permission of the Author
Wow what a week.
A lot of headlines here about Technicolor shutting down, and as a consequence, my home of 8 years, The Mill. The effects of this devastating implosion are now being felt by thousands of people around the world. And their families. And our freelancers. And their families. And the wonderful companies that supplied everything from cleaning our offices to fully-fledged studios providing the work we couldn’t do in-house – many of whom are still waiting to be paid by Technicolor. And our clients, who were blindsided by this just as much as we were.
It is, with no exaggeration, gut wrenching. I mean it. I’ve felt ill since I got the news around midnight Friday UK time: our US colleagues had been told they no longer had jobs via an unsigned email from an unknown address.
But there’s another side to this story that many people might miss. While the anonymous corporation set about dismantling all our lives, our community was ready to start rebuilding from day one.
By Saturday morning, people were on the ground in London securing client project files. In one case a determined producer and PA worked together to buy the last 12TB drives in London and get files downloading with the help of Techops staff who offered their time. And thanks to our leadership who covered the costs out of pocket.
By 10am on Monday The Mill UK staff had started migrating off our in-house messaging system and onto a new Slack group where they’ve offered everything from legal advice to job search lists and references to friendship and support. It’s a wonderful thing to see.
Will MacNeil
Meanwhile a huge network of former Mill staff started appearing on LinkedIn, sharing job offers, practical advice and again, friendship. While organisations donated time, expertise, free software, learning assets and more.
The next weeks will be tough. The story will slip off people’s timelines. Some Mill staff will land new jobs, some will need more time and support. I ask you all to keep giving it.
I said to my colleagues online just now: I’ve always been proud to be part of The Mill. But never THIS proud. While our parent company tried its best to land a final blow from its anonymous email addresses, our community fought back.
We are most certainly down. But no way are we out.
Will MacNeil
Creative Director – The Mill, London. Focused on innovation in visual storytelling