Hundreds of Activision Blizzard Employees Were Recently Let Go
During a Tuesday earnings call, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick announced that the company would be laying off about 8% of its workforce. In 2018, it was reported that the company employs about 9,600 people, so this possibly means that more than 700 employees have been let go.
The recent layoffs were rumored last week to occur on Tuesday.
Kotick reportedly said that the layoffs were part of a “restructuring” effort on the part of Activision Blizzard.
Blizzard president J. Allen Brack said in a Tuesday news post that the layoffs at Blizzard would allow the company to focus more on game development and esports.
“To better support these priorities, we need to reorganize some of our non-development teams,” Brack said. “As a result, we will be reducing the number of non-development positions in North America and anticipate a related process in our regional offices over the coming months subject to local requirements.”
“This was an extremely difficult decision, and we want to acknowledge the effort of everyone who has contributed to Blizzard,” Brack added. “To assist with the transition, we are offering each impacted employee a severance package that includes additional pay, benefits continuation, and career and recruiting support to help them find their next opportunity. These people are members of the Blizzard family—they’ve cared deeply and contributed greatly to our work here and we are extremely grateful for all they’ve done.”
Kotaku has reported that several of Activision’s publishing employees and development studios have also been affected by the layoffs.
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