EA: Job cuts will help make the company stronger
Publisher refuses to detail next wave of redundancies, as rumours point to Euro studios
Electronic Arts has said the its current round of redundancies are necessary to strengthen the business.
Following reported lay-offs at Black Box, Tiburon and Pandemic, GamesIndustry.biz had asked Electronic Arts whether jobs at studios including Criterion and D.I.C.E. are likely to be lost.
"I can't give you more specifics on how many people in what locations, but we are making deep cuts in our cost structure to help make the company stronger," said a spokesperson for EA.
"We announced a six per cent goal for headcount reductions in our earnings call on 30 October. When we issued a warning on 9 December, we announced that the personnel cuts would be greater than six percent and just before the holidays, we provided the first details on that plan and said that it would include a cut of approximately ten percent, or 1000 people," added the company rep.
With EA failing to address the lay-offs in any official detail, rumours are pointing to studios and offices in locations such as the UK, Romania and Geneva as next in line for redundancies.
Over 200 staff were let go at Black Box yesterday, as the remaining team moves to nearby Burnaby.
EA Sports house Tiburon also lost staff this week, and Pandemic's Brisbane studio has been reportedly cut free from the business.
Electronic Arts is due to report its latest financial results on February 3.