IGN to reduce in size; staff lay-offs reported across company

Online media site IGN is to lay off staff in every area of the company, according to a leaked internal memo from IGN president Roy Bahat.

The memo says the move is a cost reducing exercise. "While we've been doing well we're still feeling the effects of the economy," it reads.

It adds that job losses will be felt in every part part of the company, despite the company's audience growth of 40 per cent last year.

"Today's a hard day at IGN. We've had to reduce the size of our organisation and are eliminating roles today in every part of the company. We are making every effort to be compassionate and fair to the people whose roles we've eliminated," reads the memo, published by Joystiq.

"We're doing this to reduce costs. While we've been doing well - we're profitable and our audience continues to grow - we're still feeling the effects of the economy, and we need to make sure we can invest where there is opportunity. Over the past couple of years, we have been focusing IGN on areas where we can not only grow, but be best in the world: serving gamers online, and serving advertisers looking to reach men. To do that successfully, we have to be as efficient as possible in our core businesses. The difficult actions we're taking today get us to where we need to be.

"We are losing colleagues who played an important role getting us to where we are - #1 in games and men's lifestyle, and growing 40 per cent over last year in the total size of our audience. We are deeply grateful to our colleagues for everything they've done. We as a company are absolutely headed in the right direction, and while today will be hard, it won't stop us."

The number of staff to be affected by the move from the News Corporation-owned company is still to be confirmed.