EA announces layoffs for six per cent of its workers
Electronic Arts (EA), the company behind Apex Legends, The Sims and FIFA, has announced it will be laying off six per cent of its workforce.
In an article published on EA’s website, CEO Andrew Wilson shared a statement that was first issued to staff at EA.
In the post, Wilson claimed that EA is “moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams”.
Wilson confirmed that this would affect “approximately six per cent” of EA’s workforce, which Kotaku places between 700 to 800 workers.
“This is the most difficult part, and we are working through the process with the utmost care and respect,” wrote Wilson. “Where we can, we are providing opportunities for our colleagues to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we are providing severance pay and additional benefits such as health care and career transition services.”
“Communicating these decisions began earlier this quarter and we expect them to continue through early next fiscal year,” the CEO added.
It’s possible that the company’s recent layoffs at its Baton Rouge studio, which put over 200 quality assurance testers for Apex Legends out of work, were part of the layoffs announced by Wilson.
Former workers at Baton Rouge, contracted through Magnit Global, told NME they were fired – effective immediately – through a short-notice Zoom meeting. Some testers were fired just hours after finishing their night shift, while termination letters were addressed “dear Magnit worker assigned to EA” rather than using workers’ names.
Speaking to NME, a spokesperson for EA confirmed the layoffs and said it was part of a “global strategy” to expand the distribution of Apex Legends‘ QA team.
This month has seen thousands of layoffs across the gaming and tech industry. Last week, streaming giant Twitch announced “just over” 400 layoffs, while Meta has announced plans to fire 10,000 workers.
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Andy Brown
NME
