There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by without some sort of closure announcement lately as today it has been reported that Merlin Magic Making at Alton Towers (the building based behind HEX) is being scrapped with around 33 job positions on the chopping block.
Merlin Entertainments is reviewing the future of its Merlin Magic Making team and has told staff mere weeks before Christmas that they may be redundant as massive shake-up plans are in store for the future of their theming plans.
The dedicated Merlin Magic Making team (MMM for short) includes workshop, digital, management, admin and project management staff members. Some skilled workers have been with Alton Towers for years with many rides such as Toyland Tours, HEX and Nemesis were all made in-house the first time around.
Since then Merlin has been outsourcing multiple theming jobs to companies such as Nordic Sky and UkLoco who do many of the more recent projects for Alton Towers Resort.
One affected worker told StokeonTrentLive:
“I am really shocked and feel sorry for the long-term dedicated and skilled staff. There is a joiner who worked on the 1994 Nemesis Monster and still worked as a joiner in the company on the 2023 version of Nemesis Reborn. They want to out-source all of the theming instead of making it in-house.”
According to a document that was shared with StokeOnTrentLive market challenges were listed as the reason for the cuts as MMM looks to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Outsourcing theming is part of their global strategy as they don’t plan to make it a core area of expertise.
At this moment in time, Merlin Entertainments has stressed that the proposal remains at the consultation stage but if it was at this stage then there would be no need for a staff member or whoever has come forward to SOT Live to report this as factual.
My heart goes out to all of those potentially affected by this news, it’s a horrible time of year to be told you may be without a job over the next few months but with the skilled team that made up Merlin Magic Making at Alton Towers, I’m sure their skills will be very useful at other companies in need of their services.
