Funko Lays Off Half of Mondo Staff, but Poster Production to Continue
Brian Welk
Funko, the collectible toy company known for its popular Funko Pop figurines, has laid off a large chunk of staffers across its company, including roughly half the staff at the Austin-based poster and collectibles company Mondo, several individuals with knowledge of the layoffs told IndieWire.
IndieWire has confirmed reports first in TheWrap and Gizmodo‘s i09 on Friday that Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones, along with senior creative director Eric Garza, were among those let go earlier this week. Putnam and Jones led the poster division at Mondo. One of the individuals we spoke with said that cuts primarily impacted Mondo’s poster division, as well as headcount from the marketing team. Creative leads for soundtracks and collectibles still remain at the company.
While TheWrap initially reported that the poster division has been shuttered entirely, an individual told IndieWire that poster production will continue at the brand. While Mondo was more heavily impacted in terms of a percentage of its workforce, the larger headcount reduction in terms of pure numbers was at Funko proper, which lost 10 percent of its staff. Mondo went from about 40 staffers to 20.
Representatives for Funko had no comment.
Mondo, which was previously part of Tim League’s Alamo Drafthouse, was acquired by Funko last summer amid Drafthouse’s bankruptcy proceedings, a result of declining theatrical revenue brought about by the pandemic. Mondo was founded in 2004 and in the last two decades has become a staple among the pop culture fan community thanks to its partnerships with emerging artists, many of whom have produced striking alternative posters for beloved films. Poster prints have rapidly sold out whenever exclusive new printings are released, and a Mondo shop in Austin has become a fan-favorite destination. It even once held a MondoCon convention and had a huge presence at the Funko booth at San Diego Comic-Con last July.
Funko in its fourth quarter earnings for 2022 posted a net loss of $46.7 million, further announcing that it would write down between $30 million and $36 million in inventory levels for the first half of 2023.
Funko appointed Stave Nave its new CFO and chief operating officer earlier this month.
