There have been new layoffs at Activision Blizzard. Nearly 190 employees from all areas are said to have been dismissed.
For almost 2 years, there have been recurring reports of layoffs at Activision Blizzard. There seems to have been a new wave now, with nearly 200 people being laid off. It seems that the cuts are primarily impacting the areas of live event development and e-sports events.
How many people were laid off? There is no exact number. In a conversation with Jason Schreier from Bloomberg, a source who wished to remain unnamed said, however, that it should be “under 2%” of the employees. 2% would be approximately 190 employees, so the number will likely be just below that.
Why were the people laid off? Although there were layoffs in almost all areas of Activision Blizzard, a large part of the employees dealt with e-sports. 50 employees were responsible for the development of “e-sports events and other live events”.
After a year of the Corona pandemic, during which many events were canceled, postponed, or held only digitally, it seems that a step back from large live events is being taken. From a company spokesperson, it was said (via Bloomberg):
The number of players choosing to connect with our games and e-sports teams is doing so digitally, just like traditional sports, the entertainment, and broadcasting industries have had to adapt their operations in light of the impact of the pandemic on live events.
However, the layoffs did not only affect employees at Blizzard but also about people from King.com, who are responsible for the game Candy Crush – they are also part of Activision Blizzard.
There were severance payments and gift cards: The US employees affected by the layoffs received severance packages that were at least equivalent to 90 days’ salary, as well as “health benefits” for another year and support in finding a new job. On top of that, there were also $200 gift cards for Battle.net.
Despite these layoffs, Activision Blizzard has given a fundamentally positive outlook for the year 2021. The company expects to hire up to 3,000 new employees during the course of 2021.
What do you think about these layoffs? A logical step in times of fewer live events due to the pandemic? Or do you see it differently?
