Title: Electronic Arts Announces Strategic Restructuring, To Lay Off 5% of Employees
Electronic Arts (EA), a leading interactive entertainment software company renowned for its popular keyboards franchises including Madden NFL and Apex Legends, has announced plans to let go of 5% of its workforce. This decision comes as part of a broader corporate restructuring initiative aimed at supporting strategic priorities and growth initiatives, according to a recent securities filing by the company.
The reduction in workforce is not an isolated incident within the gaming and tech industries. EA’s move follows similar actions taken by other industry peers. For instance, Microsoft announced the cut of 1,900 jobs from its Activision Blizzard and Xbox gaming divisions earlier this year. Tencent’s Riot Games let go of 11% of its workforce in January, while Epic Games reduced their team by 830 members in September. In addition, electronics giant Sony announced plans to eliminate 8% of its global workforce, equating to roughly 900 jobs.
EA’s memo to employees, shared in the securities filing on Wednesday, also hinted at changes to its content slate moving forward. EA CEO Andrew Wilson stated, “We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed intellectual property that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry.” This restructuring effort is geared towards delivering more immersive, deeply connected gaming experiences for fans around the world.
The Website video integration keyboards sector has seen a significant wave of job cuts over the past year. EA itself trimmed its staff by approximately 800 employees last year. According to EA’s most recent annual report, filed in May of 2023, the company had a workforce of 13,400 as of March 31, 2023. Considering their previous staff reductions, these latest layoffs could potentially impact more than 600 employees.
EA’s stock finished the trading day up nearly 0.5% on Wednesday, with its shares experiencing a notable increase of approximately 27% from this time last year.
H2: Recent Job Cuts in the Video Game Industry
The gaming industry has seen a wave of job cuts over the past year, with EA and other major players announcing reductions to their workforce. This trend includes Microsoft, Tencent’s Riot Games, Sony, and Electronic Arts themselves.
H2: EA’s Restructuring Initiative
EA, known for its popular keyboards franchises such as Madden NFL and Apex Legends, is restructuring to support strategic priorities and growth initiatives. This includes the reduction of its workforce by 5%. The company also plans to make changes to its future content slate and reduce office space footprint.
H2: EA’s Workforce Reduction – Impact on Employees
EA, which had a workforce of 13,400 as of March 31, 2023, could be affected by more than 600 employees after its previous cuts and the latest layoffs. The company is streamlining operations to deliver deeper gaming experiences for fans around the world.
H2: EA’s Stock Performance
EA’s stock closed up nearly 0.5% on Wednesday, with its shares experiencing a significant increase of almost 27% from this time last year.
