EA “restructuring” sees 6% of total staff losing their job

EA has laid off roughly 6% of its total staff, the latest in a series of industry-wide cuts as both gaming and tech as a whole show signs of struggling.

This information comes from the EA website, where a statement by CEO Andrew Wilson has been posted to the public following its initial rounds to staff. The statement starts with assuring employees that EA is operating from “a position of strength”, before addressing news of the layoffs.

“As we drive greater focus across our portfolio, we are moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams,” writes Wilson. “These decisions are expected to impact approximately six percent of our company’s workforce. This is the most difficult part, and we are working through the process with the utmost care and respect.”

Wilson continues by assuring that the company will assist on helping affected staff “transition onto other projects”, providing severance pay and additional benefits such as health care and career transition services to those who aren’t able to land on their feet within the company.

It’s been a tumultuous time for EA in recent months. Only recently did the company, publisher of Apex Legends, lay off roughly 200 QA staff from the game (thanks GamesIndustry.biz). It also reportedly cancelled a single player Apex Legends project, leading many former staff to move on and form a new studio in Wildlight Entertainment.

Even so, it’s not all bad news for the industry giant. Respawn Entertianment has only recently pledged long term support for Apex Legends for another “10 to 15 years” as it opens a third studio despite the loss of hundreds of QA staff. EA also has its next big single player release Star Wars: Jedi Survivor coming this April.

This, of course, is little benefit to the hundreds of developers who are at best being shuffled to other projects, and at worst losing their jobs. It’s yet another dire wave crashing against the hull of the games industry as a whole, as companies drop staff and projects left and right in hopes of staying afloat. In the midst of a recession, there’s no clear skies right now.