The gaming giant Electronic Arts is laying off 350 of its 9000 employees. The layoffs mainly affect the areas of marketing, publishing, and analytics. Offices in Russia and Japan are being closed.
Where does the information come from? The US site Kotaku received an email that was internally sent to employees of Electronic Arts.
The marketing chief of EA, Chris Bruzzo, mentioned that the areas of marketing, publishing, and analytics are being consolidated. They will be smaller.
There is a shift in strategy, and offices in Russia and Japan will be closing.
It is said:
We have the vision to become the largest gaming company in the world. If we are honest with ourselves, we are not that at the moment. We need to work on our games, our business, and our relationship with the players.
When Kotaku inquired at EA, they received an official statement from EA confirming and elaborating on the statements in the email.
In the official statement it says: It is a difficult day. The changes being made today will affect about 350 roles out of 9000 employees. These are important but hard decisions, and they are not made lightly. They will strive to help their people during this difficult time to find their next employment.
The decision is about:
- Preparing the company for upcoming tasks and opportunities
- Reacting to a changing world with their own change
- Refining their organization further and meeting player expectations
However, EA assures that it remains focused on improving the quality of its games and services.
What’s behind it: According to information from Kotaku, EA employees had seen this development coming since October 2018. A reorganization and cutbacks were expected.
The news from EA strongly resembles the report from Activision Blizzard. There, in February, they laid off 800 employees.
Some blame Fortnite for the “bad” mood at established gaming companies.
It seems that the companies are now focused on their core business of “game development” and are cutting back in other areas where possible.
Recently, Electronic Arts experienced ups and downs in the stock market. After weak numbers from Battlefield 5, there was a silver lining with Apex Legends.
