It was not a good sign when Funko announced earlier this month his plans to outright destroy his $30-$36 million worth of collectible vinyl figurines due to declining demand that has sunk their value. But Funko’s recent decision to lay off roughly half of the staff at the Mondo subsidiary paints a stark picture of a company struggling to secure its financial position.
Although Funko only acquired Mondo, the Austin-based nostalgic memorabilia outfit known for its movie posters and small-batch vinyl records, from Alamo Drafthouse last summer, the envelope reports that “most” of Mondo’s staff, including co-founders Rob Jones and Mitch Putnam, were laid off this week. Along with the layoffs, Funko is said to be shutting down Mondo’s poster division entirely, though io9 reports that the company intends to continue producing posters “under different leadership” in the future.
For the time being, Mondo’s record and toy-producing arms will live to see another day, and there are still a handful of posters for sale on Mondo’s site. However, the selection is quite limited and it seems the Mondo people you once knew and loved are long gone.
