Electronic Arts (EA) executes another round of layoffs as the company moves closer to completing its landmark $55 billion acquisition. This comes after a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) moves forward with the proposed acquisition. The latest layoffs raised concerns about the publisher’s workforce strategy and its impact on employees. Experts suggest this is among the largest layoffs in gaming history.
Despite EA’s flagship franchises continuing to perform strongly, there is growing pressure on gaming companies to streamline operations ahead of major ownership transitions.
According to reports, an email was sent out last Wednesday to EA’s Fan Care (customer support) team by an internal department head. The letter states, “The layoffs are part of work to adapt how we work to better meet fans’ changing needs. As part of this evolution, we are making or proposing to make changes to some roles, creating new roles, and moving certain work to different teams, locations, or service partners.”
EA has recently reduced staff across multiple studios working on the Battlefield franchise. The affected teams include:
Developers at DICE
Developers at Criterion
Developers at Ripple Effect
Developers at Motive.
The mass layoffs took place despite the success of the Battlefield franchise. This comes after a major shift made just before the acquisition. These have been characterized by EA as organizational restructuring in anticipation of future business objectives.
When the acquisition was announced, EA assured its staff that there would be no immediate lay-offs resulting from the deal and that studios would have creative freedom. But labor unions and politicians have continued to voice concerns about possible staff cutbacks once the acquisition is completed.
They cite the considerable debt burden associated with the leveraged buyout and warn about any cost-cutting policies that may be implemented. Other analysts have expressed the view that private ownership will increase pressure to focus on EA's successful franchises at the expense of other projects and investments.
The most recent layoffs confirm the company's uncertain fate as it gears up for a new form of ownership. While EA claims that the acquisition will bring even greater success to the company, others wonder about the future once the historic deal is approved.
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