TORONTO – IMAX Corporation announced a workforce reduction as part of a broader corporate
restructuring plan to better align the organization with its strategic
objectives. The Company believes that the resulting SG&A reductions and
redistribution of resources will better position it to achieve positive
returns.
The Company will consolidate its manufacturing of sound and
projection systems at its Sheridan Park facility in Mississauga, Ontario and
has scaled back the operations at its Birmingham, Alabama facility.
This workforce reduction will result in an elimination of approximately
130 jobs out of a current workforce of approximately 1000 employees. “These
measures were necessary to improve IMAX’s operating results and in response to
the financial difficulties in the commercial exhibition industry,” said IMAX
co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J. Wechsler. “While it’s disheartening
to lay off valued members of the IMAX team, we believe that these measures
will ultimately improve shareholder value and we remain optimistic about
IMAX’s future.”
The Company will host a conference call in mid-March 2001 to discuss the
corporate restructuring and earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended
December 31, 2000. The Company will recognize a charge in the first quarter
of 2001 as a result of this workforce reduction.
IMAX Corporation and its subsidiaries comprise one of the world’s leading
entertainment technology companies, with particular emphasis on film and
digital imaging technologies, including giant-screen images, 3D presentations,
digital post-production and digital projection.
There were more than 220 IMAX theatres operating in 28 countries around the world as of September 30, 2000. IMAX’s subsidiaries include Digital Projection International, whose primary
business is the design and manufacture of high-end digital image delivery devices, Sonics Associates, a designer and manufacturer of high-end sound systems and DKP/70MM Inc., award-winning specialists in image quality control and post-production.
IMAX Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on both the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges.
