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Other Activision Blizzard Layoffs

cm2

cm2

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Just read from dualshokers and Bloomberg on Activision and Blizzard planning to layoff hundreds of their staff:

In a report from Bloomberg, the outlet detailed that Activision Blizzard appears to be getting ready to announce layoffs at the company in the coming week (apparently as soon as this coming Tuesday), seemingly as part of plans to restructure the company following the underwhelming performance of some of its recent titles.

According to Bloomberg, the company’s layoffs “could number in the hundreds” as part of the plan, with Activision Blizzard having employed over 9,800 people as of the end of 2017. Overall, Activision’s stock values have also experienced a drop in the past few weeks, with shares reported at a price of $42.88.

This restructuring of Activision Blizzard appears to come as a result of the company’s struggles with some of its recent titles, as Bloomberg reports that titles such as Overwatch and Hearthstone saw “flat or declining numbers of users.” Likewise, Destiny 2: Forsaken appeared to have “disappointing sales” from when it debuted last fall.
 
That is surprising considering all of the Call of duty titles.
 
It is sad hearing people losing their jobs because of company problems. Hopefully, some of the employees can find new jobs.
 
Just read a statement from the company's president, J. Allen Brack:

“Over the last few years, many of our non-development teams expanded to support various needs. Currently staffing levels on some teams are out of proportion with our current release slate. This means we need to scale down some areas of our organization. I’m sorry to share that we will be parting ways with some of our colleagues in the U.S. today. In our regional offices, we anticipate similar evaluations, subject to local requirements.”

And read more from dualshockers:

During the earnings call itself, it was confirmed that roughly 8% of the staff across Activision-Blizzard will be affected by these layoffs, which will result is somewhere around 800 lost jobs. Many of these positions are expected to stem from non-development pipelines and will deal more with the company’s publishing and esports wings. Activision-Blizzard as a whole will also drastically be restructuring throughout 2019 to more appropriately prepare itself for the future.
 
cm2 said:
Just read a statement from the company's president, J. Allen Brack:

“Over the last few years, many of our non-development teams expanded to support various needs. Currently staffing levels on some teams are out of proportion with our current release slate. This means we need to scale down some areas of our organization. I’m sorry to share that we will be parting ways with some of our colleagues in the U.S. today. In our regional offices, we anticipate similar evaluations, subject to local requirements.”

And read more from dualshockers:

During the earnings call itself, it was confirmed that roughly 8% of the staff across Activision-Blizzard will be affected by these layoffs, which will result is somewhere around 800 lost jobs. Many of these positions are expected to stem from non-development pipelines and will deal more with the company’s publishing and esports wings. Activision-Blizzard as a whole will also drastically be restructuring throughout 2019 to more appropriately prepare itself for the future.
Click to expand...

It should be noted that all those affected will be given payment for the early termination, as well as keeping benefits and assistance in finding a new job. In short, they simply aren't throwing them out into the cold.
 
Read some more on the matter, from kotaku:

It was carnage. People were laid off at Activision’s main office in Santa Monica, California, where an entire team of Destiny publishing staff had been coming to work with nothing to do. (Some of them were laid off; some were moved to Call of Duty or other teams. Some in other departments were also laid off.) People lost their jobs at King, the developer of Candy Crush, and at Activision’s various development studios including Vicarious Visions (Albany, NY) and High Moon Studios (San Diego, CA), both of which had handled support on Destiny 2. Activision Blizzard staff in Europe, Latin America, and other regions across the world also lost their jobs. Some who were laid off wrote messages on social media to say goodbye, while developers all across the video game industry tried to help by posting job listings on Twitter and Facebook. Although the bulk of laid-off employees were support staff, some were in departments like art and design as well.

Over the past week I’ve talked to around 20 people who were laid off or close to those being laid off, as well as others with knowledge as to what’s happening at Activision Blizzard. If there’s a consensus, it’s rage. Rage at Kotick’s comments, at the way Activision executives seemingly view their employees as numbers on a spreadsheet, at the callousness in which this layoff was handled. There’s rage at who was chosen to be laid off—two people told me that it felt like a random, haphazard practice—and rage that some important employees were let go. Some who had been laid off told me they had felt safe, expecting their studios or departments to not be affected. Even those who felt layoffs were necessary or justifiable said they were shocked by the scale, scope, and coldness from executives. Full-time employees who were laid off across Activision Blizzard did get severance, although contractors did not.

Support teams had been gutted. The layoffs were largest in non-development departments like IT and QA, according to those who were there. The esports department was hit hard, as many within Blizzard had expected—after all, it had been led by Amy Morhaime, wife of Mike, the long-time Blizzard CEO who left the company last fall. She departed around the same time. The two Morhaimes were seen as big advocates for esports within Blizzard, even when it wasn’t quite as lucrative as Activision’s executives might have hoped, and with them gone, the department was in danger.
 
Sounds like a lot of them got realty bitch slapped, the same one my mom got when she thought her job was cozy safe but wasn't.

I do wish those affected the best. And I wish this company even more as their future will surely now suffer with such a dark cloud hanging over them.
 
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