Gamma, the venerable news, celebrity and creative stock image agency, was told by a commercial court in Paris that it has until the end of this year to cut jobs and reorganize its business and finances.
This observation period will end in January 2010, at which time the court will decide if the photojournalism agency will be declared bankrupt. Gamma, which is now a subsidiary of French photo agency Eyedea Presse, appeared in court at the end of July to ask the courts for protection after losing $4.2 million in the first half of 2009.
Gamma's CEO, Stephane Ledoux, stated in court that the company lost money by trying to, employ photographers while the entire photojournalism business was collapsing.
In a New York Times article, Gamma said that the reorganization would ultimately include layoffs and that the company hopes to end daily news coverage and return to magazine photography.
Green Recovery, a private-equity firm based in Paris, took over Eyedea in 2007 and has reportedly said that it will continue to back the company financially.
Gamma, founded in 1966 by photographers Raymond Depardon and Gilles Caron, currently employs 55 staff members, 14 of whom are photographers, at its Paris headquarters.