EA cutting 1000 jobs

[DaveC]

I just read this article on the Edmonton Journal Website

 

 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Video+game+company+jobs/1096535/story.html

 

 

EDMONTON - Video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc. ? owner of Edmonton?s Bioware ? will cut 1,000 jobs and close or consolidate at least nine studio and publishing locations, the company said Friday.

Only one facility was identified in the announcement ? the Black Box Studio in Vancouver will be consolidated with EA?s studio in Burnaby.

The impact on Bioware or other EA facilities is not being released today, spokesman Jeff Brown said in an interview.

?Cuts are targeted at all divisions and geographies of the company,? he said.

Electronic Arts Inc., the world?s largest video-game publisher, paid a record $825 million in October 2007 for BioWare and Pandemic Studios. The studios were both owned by Elevation Partners, an investment firm founded by rock star Bono and Electronic Arts? chief executive John Riccitiello.

BioWare Corporation?s founders ? Greg Zeschuk, Ray Muzyka, and Augustine Yip ? all met in medical school at the University of Alberta. They shared a fascination for computers and computer games. They formed BioWare in 1995 with a $100,000 investment.

EA said Friday it expects the restructuring plan will result in annual savings of about $120 million and restructuring charges of $55 million to $65 million.

The company?s workforce will fall by about 10 per cent. Most of the layoffs will be completed by March 31.

The company will focus on ?hit games with higher margin opportunities.?

?The company remains committed to taking creative risks, investing in new games, leading the industry in the growing mobile and online businesses, and delivering high-quality games to consumers,? it said.

EA reported a $310 million loss during the second quarter and warned its fiscal 2009 results would be worse than expected because of slow sales in North America and Europe.

[DaveC]

What scares me the most from that article is

 

The company will focus on “hit games with higher margin opportunities.”

 

I would hate to see them start curbing the new IP's especially after such good games like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge

[dogbert]

EDMONTON - Video-game maker Electronic Arts Inc. — owner of Edmonton’s Bioware — will cut 1,000 jobs and close or consolidate at least nine studio and publishing locations, the company said Friday.

 

This isn't quite right as that number includes the layoffs from a few months ago.

[Brandon H]

The company will focus on ?hit games with higher margin opportunities.?

 

I don't read that as dropping new IPs necessarily. I do read it as, "cranking out Wii shovelware."

[foogledricks]

I see it as tons of sequels really fast.

[jhfagan]

I see it as just another casualty of the shit economy.

It's a shame too, when a company in an industry that has a much higher annual yield than that of Hollywood's film industry, has to lay off 1000 people and report so many millions of dollars in losses.

1000 people in a company like EA is alot of people.

If Verizon or AT&T, or any other WIDE spread company reported those numbers of layoffs, it would still suck, but everyone would say "what, that's all?".

 

You'll just see more and more internal decay from this company, and others to follow.

They will all join SEGA in being forced to shut down what made them unique, and what they built their good name on, in favor of doing anything it took to make money, which unfortunately means appealing to the masses, and produce substandard crack game fodder to just appease the sheep consumers with constantly NEW product.

Not necessarily BETTER product.