AEone of the giants of the video game industry, announced the layoff of 6% of its global workforce. This percentage roughly translates into 780 employees —considering that they had 13,000 in their ranks.
The news has obviously taken the entire industry by surprise. Especially since EA is not a company that has reported a notable drop in its economic income recently.
What then is the reason for this decision? According to Andrew WilsonEA CEO, one factor has to do with the restructuring of its investments in new projects. The manager hints that not all his playable bets have yielded the desired results, which has caused them to re-evaluate which games they should place their money on.
Wilson has made it clear that, at the moment, there are three franchises that stand out the most in terms of popularity and income: FIFA, Apex Legends and the sims. The manager points out that EA should focus its attention and investment on online experiences whose audience can be massive. Of course, without neglecting the games that stand out for their single player history.
Now, more than ever, we must focus on our strategic priorities: creating games and experiences that entertain massive online communities; create highly successful interactive narratives; and amplify the power of the community around our games with social and creation tools. These priorities align our investments with opportunities to achieve the greatest impact.”
Andrew Wilson.
Another factor that has generated the dismissal of employees is that EA is rethinking face-to-face work in its offices. The pandemic showed that, in certain sectors, activities can continue to be carried out from home. Unfortunately, leaving the office means giving up some jobs.
Despite the bad news, EA says the layoffs were their last option. Some employees have been redeployed to other projects, and those who did not have that opportunity are receiving a adequate compensation.
“We expect these decisions to affect approximately 6% of our company’s workforce. This is the hardest part, and we are managing the process with the utmost care and respect. When we can, we provide opportunities for our colleagues to transition to other projects. When that’s not possible, we provide severance pay and additional benefits such as healthcare and career transition services.”
Andrew Wilson.
EA concludes its statement by saying that the layoffs began during the current quarter, but will continue until the next fiscal year.
2023 will be a pivotal year for EA in multiple ways. First, because its most successful game, soccer, will leave the brand FIFA to bet on your own: EA SPORTS FC. Everything indicates that the company will offer a look at its new proposal at some point in the summer.
On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that this year will also see the light Star Wars Jedi: Survivorsequel to the outstanding Fallen Order. Will they manage to maintain the quality standard imposed by the predecessor title? We will know on April 28.
