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Game publisher Electronic Arts is letting go off five percent of its workforce. The job cuts are part of a larger restructuring plan that is expected to be finalized by the end of December. As a result of the layoffs, work on several games will be halted.
As part of the reorganization, CEO Andrew Wilson of EA stated in a memo to employees that less office space will be required to better support the company. Additionally, EA has chosen to stop developing games "that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry." Although the specific games affected have not been disclosed, Wilson mentioned that this decision also impacts the development of future licensed intellectual property.
The exact number of employees being laid off has not been disclosed. According to CNBC, EA had 13,400 employees as of March 2023, indicating that approximately 670 jobs will be eliminated. However, EA had previously conducted a round of layoffs in March of the previous year, which involved six percent of the workforce equating to 780 employees.
EA is not the only gaming company facing layoffs. Sony recently announced that around 900 employees from the PlayStation Interactive Entertainment division will be let go. This includes Dutch-owned Guerilla Games, which is a subsidiary of Sony. Additionally, Microsoft had laid off 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard Xbox and ZeniMax back in January.
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