Well, we first received a tip about this from a source close to the matter yesterday and now there’s official word that indie film/ad production collective Foundation Content has consolidated business in its Chicago office in order to expand operations in its Culver City, CA office. From what we’ve been told by those in the know, the “bulk” of staff at Foundation’s Windy City branch has been let go while “a few staffers” will remain on board there until mid-Feb to complete current
Chicago-based client business. Foundation as a whole currently works with the likes of Walmart, MySpace and Sony Electronics.
In a statement, Foundation co-founder/CCO Samantha Hart says, ““As our business model continues to evolve, so must we. We are learning to adapt to where our energies are best spent, and we’ve determined that our Culver City headquarters requires most of our creative resources. We have decided to focus our attention, during 2013, to our West Coast front. A small team will remain in place in Chicago during this time of expansion and transition.”
While the focus is now on expansion in the West Coast, where Hart and fellow co-founder James Levon Lipetzky relocated to back in 2011, we’ve been told that a few staffers from Chicago are “likely to relocate” to Foundation Content’s Culver City office, one that has expanded its editorial offering to include graphics, color, and finishing . Prior to the Foundation move, the prodco’s Chicago office housed 16 staffers.