Really now. I would have expected the Death Star to lay off people before EA would. I guess the Empire had a pretty solid economy, though. It seems that although EA is doing well in the long term, it’s cautious of incurring too much in costs during the downturn. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be having Maddens for years to come, but a 6 percent reduction in headcount at something like EA is a serious move. I hope they don’t have make any more like that.
It feels a little weird rooting for the big guy, but let’s be honest: when they make cuts, they’re going to make it to the less profitable sections, i.e. original games with new ideas that don’t sell in the millions. As much as EA gets flak for being a sequel machine, at least they still put out genuinely good stuff every once in a while.
I wonder if this is specifically aimed at a particular facility. I’m right around the corner from the Playa Vista EA building, guess I’ll find out when going for pizza at the local hangout.
Meh, I’m not a fan of EA…If they cut from the people coming up with original game ideas its their loss and the whole gaming community in general.
I guess this means that EA employees will have to work 22 hours a day instead of the leisurely 20.
EA did lose money the last quarter so not a total surprise.
The EA “Master Plan” is to chop heads in high-wage locations and replace with peanut workers.
This downturn is the PERFECT EXCUSE to cut the fat and fire, fire fire.
Hell, it’s a terrific executive decision, and you even get an excuse courtesy a “bad economy”.
40% Increase in revenue year-to-year for EA.
Loss due to acquisitions.
Let’s Fire ‘em!!! Whoopie!
Shocking news here!
They’ve made some losses, but its across the board, to fire that much, from a major player in the industry, i might add, is quite shocking…
Hope we won’t hear more news like this…
Oh btw
check out http://www.jobstaxi.com
Interesting game related jobs found there
http://www.jobstaxi.com/savemainstreet/viewjob.aspx?jobid=103746
http://www.jobstaxi.com/savemainstreet/viewjob.aspx?jobid=103721
This is scary news!
A major player, didnt expect the cuts to be this bad!
Yasser – http://www.jobstaxi.com
hi
EA lost cash. Expected!
Consequences of a bitter economy, it all trickles down to smallest employee but you can get help here http://www.nichea.info especially with loans.
‘Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be having Maddens for years’
lol
game over!
This is completely ordinary. Game companies are like movie studios, at the end of the movie they fire a bunch of people. Game mostly ship at Xmas so a pile of layoffs right before it is routine. Publically traded game companies like EA also do a purge at the end of their fiscal year (march for EA). So there will be another round as assuredly as the sun will rise tomorrow.
Those of us in the industry just plan accordingly…
Yeah, I wondered whether it was part of a cyclic thing… but the games industry is a lot smaller than the movies industry in terms of people employed. You’re probably right in part but we would have seen this type of action in years past as well if it was normal. Probably 100 people is normal… 600 isn’t.
With a single AAA game taking ~400 people to build/ship these days, ~600 people is basically a game & a half. (Ok, maybe 2-3 if you assume fractional time spent across several games.) However, given the huge number of games that EA ships, and the thousands of EA employees, 600 really isn’t a big deal in percentage terms.
Two closing points:
1. One can predict the layoffs at game companies with the same accuracy as when the leaves are going to fall from tress – they will fall, it’s just a matter of +- a few weeks one way or the other in terms of a precise date.
2. Don’t get distracted by absolute values. Remember it’s inevitable that gas is going to cost $6/gal in the US, it’s only a matter of when. :)
As much as EA gets flak for being a sequel machine, at least they still put out genuinely good stuff every once in a while.
And they add these draconian DRM stuff to curb what ?..Piracy. That game seems to be the most pirated ever . As some one put it ” many downloaded it just for the sake of making EA realize their stupid move “.
They got 10,000 people at their place {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/jpxksPsb8n_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”They got 10,000 people at their place ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/LTXc9AIwSM”}}}
ok…where are you guys getting all these information? Looks like the economy is seriously screwed up. Just waiting when Microsoft starts laying off…
http://www.livbit.com
They just decided to kill the Tiberium title being done out of EA LA recently. I wouldn’t be too surprised if more of the layoffs were at that studio than anywhere else. Like EA Chicago before them, I rather suspect this is more about the commercial performance of their titles than the macro economy. Sales of games have been good.
Most big companies use the old GE “fire the bottom 5%” maxim as HR policy anyway. Seems to me EA tacked on an extra percent and sold it as a cost cutting measure to shore up the stock price.
This is definitely worrisome. I wonder if other game companies will be making similar cuts.
A major company having making this kind of move is a bit scary!
Wow, it’s amazing how EA is still getting hit so bad. They have some of biggest games in the world and yet they aren’t making that much money.
It always seems like they are in trouble.
Well I can’t say I feel sympathy for them. They screw customers with shitty tech support, so if they are purging the lame it can’t be that bad (If at least their games were robust enough not to need tech support, no one would have noticed. But they happen not to be). Yes, I’m sour. Can’t I?
Even tech companys start to cut people.
When will this come to an end
Thank’s
Yes we have 2 guys at EA plz take of them.
Good riddance to the people that were fired. Seriously though, sometimes people need to get their asses fired so they don’t become lazy.
Do you think a web developer got anywhere being at the one place for most of his career?
Dwayne.
http://probablysucks.com
It is a bummer to hear that even solid companies like EA are feeling the effects of the economic downturn, and having to adjust to them by having to let people go. This is a trend that is definitely going to reach us all.