henson shuts down the new york muppet workshop

[silverbolt101]

according to very reliable inside sources. the Jim Henson Company, and its evil Step parent company E.M.T.V., have decide to shut down the new york work shop,Apparently they feel that it is not nessary to keep the people who have been building and maintaining all of the muppet charecters both new and classic, since the days of the muppet show.

once again "brilliant" corporate thinking is killing the muppets.

 

[radionate]

Originally posted by silverbolt101
according to very reliable inside sources. the Jim Henson Company, and its evil Step parent company E.M.T.V., have decide to shut down the new york work shop,Apparently they feel that it is not nessary to keep the people who have been building and maintaining all of the muppet charecters both new and classic, since the days of the muppet show.

once again "brilliant" corporate thinking is killing the muppets.

Not to sound skeptical, but what are these "very reliable inside sources"?

 

[rickly]

It is not entirely accurate to say they are closing the Muppet workshop. They are moving out of the building they have occupied for something like 20 years, and relocating the workshop to the basement of the Henson offices a couple blocks away. It IS accurate to say that they are downsizing the workshop, and are sacking most of the full-time staff, some of whom have been with the company upwards of 30 years.

 

[Zack the Dog]

More magical info! i love it! i just wish i knew where it came from, anyone know?

Zack)Rowlf the, that's to bad if it's ture,Dog.

 

[scarecroe]

Everybody has a source these days. Where can I get one?

 

[BlueFrackle]

Guys,

I also hear that 'downsizing' includes Ed Christie and Polly Smith.

Now excuse me for sounding rude.

But what the heck is a Muppet without someone like Ed Christie and Polly Smith ?

Who ever is in charge of fireing and hiring is an idiot, And when i say this i honestly mean it.

You dont see me get mad that often, But something like this really bites me !

 

[Luke]

Yeah this news bites wind, there are so many cool people losing their jobs. Hopefully this isn't going to spread to the Creature Shop in London though cos they seem to get tons of work coming their way.

Sad fact is, Henson have less and less money right now and this is the reason why a sale back to Rivkins management team is the worst idea possible, this would just continue. They need a large company like Disney or Time Warner to buy them and give them the resources they need.

Saying that, good job it's a downsizing and not a complete closure !

 

[skankin-frackle]

its interesting , i come here a lot to read the different topics and see what the fans are talking about and people are normally pretty vocal about things that upset them, like the lack of a pepe plush toy,, or the edited version of muppet faimily christmas, and here someone post a topic that i know has made me and my co workers upset and we get a couple of lack luster replys , except for Warrick who really seems to understand the implications of this latest corporate blunder.

i guess creating and building muppets and keeeping the quality as high as its been for the past 30 years doesnt matter .

i realize some of you would like to have more info, and since i dont know who silverbolt is i cant say were he got his .but i can confirm that things are not as they should be in the henson company.

anyway thats how i feel.

 

[Michael]

The company has made redundant all but 3 of the workshop staff. For those that have been there a while I don't think it has come as a complete surprise there has been a feeling of this for quite a while. Nevertheless it is fairly sudden.

I don't think you really need to look at EMTV directly, though a little foresight in what they sold off could have probably prevented this. Sesame Street is a very big contract.

The 3 staff I belive will be returning too the original area of the workshop the basement of the Townhouse this is currently licensing and I imagine it will be shared or certainly downgraded.

It is a real shame, not just because walking through the four floors of the Muppet Workshop was magical.

Michael.

*who wonders why he can't log in as statnwaldorf?*

www.kermitage.com

 

[radionate]

I think what everyone is waiting on is some sort of confirmation that all this is true. Personally, I know there are a lot of people that come on sites and make up stuff just to get people roiled up over something. Had the original post come from a member who is more visable on the site, we all would have taken it a lot more seriously.

I've been watching this thread like crazy, waiting for some offical word. The minute I saw you sign up as a member, I knew you would be posting to this thread.

Of course everyone is upset. I don't think a lot of people were able to be on the board over the weekend (they have outside lives), and therefore will only be discovering this thread today, and then the frenzy will begin.

But first things first, what is fact and what is fiction? That's what I need to know before I go flying off the handle. Am I upset if its true. Rivkin and the germans need their heads examined if they have indeed made this decision. But I'd like some clearer facts than just comments from "reliable sources".