EA to Lay Off More Than 600 Employees, or 5% of Workforce

variety.com:

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Electronic Arts is laying off 5% of its workforce, making it the latest video game company to enact staffing reductions in the first quarter of the year.

In its most recent annual SEC filing, “The Sims” and “Madden” maker EA reported it employed 13,400 workers, meaning the layoffs will affect approximately 670 jobs. “As a company full of creators and storytellers, we believe in the value of teams innovating together, and continue to learn and adopt new ways of collaborating to grow and serve our global communities,” EA CEO Andrew Wilson wrote in a memo Wednesday. “Given how and where we are working, we are continuing to optimize our global real estate footprint to best support our business.” He continued: “We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.

This greater focus allows us to drive creativity, accelerate innovation, and double down on our biggest opportunities — including our owned IP, sports, and massive online communities — to deliver the entertainment players want today and tomorrow.

Lastly, we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom.” Wilson notes that “not every team will be impacted” across EA and leadership has “deeply considered every option to try and limit impacts” to the divisions.