restructuring
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PopCap hit with layoffs after recent studio split
Plants vs Zombies and Peggle developer PopCap suffered layoffs today, EA confirmed. The news follows a reorganization at the studio in late February, which saw the developer split into a two teams, one geared towards mobile games and the other for console releases. PopCap CEO David Roberts also stepped down and was replaced by co-founder John Vechey in January. "The changes we made today at PopCap were painful and we're sorry to lose some of our friends and colleagues," EA wrote in an email to Joystiq. "But it was also necessary in order to stay on course with our future plans for mobile games, live services, and new IP. PopCap is a studio that made its name building great games that the world can fall in love with, and that's what we'll continue to do." PopCap's latest game is Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare, which was good enough to earn a four-star review from Joystiq. The number of employees affected by the layoffs is unknown at this time. [Image: PopCap]
HP woes continue as 5,000 more employees face the axe (updated)
It certainly won't be a happy new year for thousands of HP employees -- not when the company has increased its layoff numbers yet again. Hewlett-Packard already adjusted the number of people it needed to let go from 27,000 to 29,000 a year ago, but it's now added another 5,000 to the total. According to HP's new SEC 10-K filing, cutting off 34,000 positions will save the ailing firm $4.1 billion per fiscal year. Since the company's only done removing 24,600 people, it's bound to let go of 9,000 more until October 2014. The good news (for everyone left anyway) is that CEO Meg Whitman has promised that this will be the last big round of layoffs. HP's undergone several management changes and restructuring efforts these past few years, though, so here's hoping Whitman's words hold true. Update (01/01/14): An HP spokesperson reached out and clarified that the company has known it'd likely go beyond 29,000 since early 2013. A SEC filing from March last year states that "the total expected headcount reductions could vary as much as 15% from [its] estimates (29,000)."
BlackBerry teams up with Foxconn for budget smartphones as sales continue to plunge
BlackBerry's new interim chief John Chen has just got a rude wake-up call: the company shipped only 1.9 million smartphones to retailers in Q3 compared to 3.7 million last quarter, and lost $4.4 billion. Most of the phones shipped were lower-priced BB7 models, and it lost a massive $2.6 billion on unsold BlackBerry 10 devices and other associated BB10 charges. Retail channel sales (of phones already shipped) during the period also showed the scale of the drop in its upmarket phones: of 4.3 million devices sold to end-users, only 1.1 million were BB10 handsets. Given that, Chen has already started making big changes, including a new organizational structure. The company will soon be divvied up into the following business units: Enterprise Services, Messaging, QNX Embedded and Devices. He hopes that'll create more focus for the services group and greater efficiencies for its handset division. With smartphone sales in freefall, BlackBerry also detailed its new five-year partnership with Foxconn. It said such a deal would let it focus on design and software, while "Foxconn's scale and efficiency will let us compete more effectively." Foxconn will build handsets in both Indonesia and Mexico, and BlackBerry said the first devices shipped in March or April 2014 will be BlackBerry 10 handsets aimed at emerging regions. For other markets, it'll focus development on segments still friendly to the brand, like enterprise and government. Meanwhile, the only bright spots in the quarter were messaging, with 40 million new Android and iOS users, and its bread and butter enterprise services. Given the hardware sales drop in just a single quarter, however, it seems to be do-or-die time for the iconic company.
Rumor: Capcom Europe to lay off more than half its staff
Capcom's European branch is to lay off over half its workforce following restructuring, according to MCV who "understands more than half of the European arm faces redundancy, with a number of jobs set to merge." Both MCV and GamesIndustry International confirmed with Capcom that its European arm is facing a restructuring process similar to that endured by the American team in the summer. The Capcom US layoffs saw several employees lose their jobs, including former senior VP of planning and business development Christian Svensson. Capcom provided the following statement: "Following a restructure at its US operation, Capcom's European organization is currently evaluating its structure to ensure it is in the best position to take advantage of the changing market conditions the industry is facing." It's unknown how many employees are based at Capcom's European offices, although Capcom reported a global employee count of 2,476 as of March 2013. MCV's report follows Capcom announcing a special loss of $73 million earlier this year due to game cancellations, some of the blame landing at the foot of overseas teams apparently providing poorer quality due to "excessive" outsourcing. Capcom said it wants marketing and development divisions to be better in sync overseas, its western teams suffering from "insufficient coordination."
Command & Conquer F2P developer EA Phenomic closed
EA's in-house real-time strategy developer, EA Phenomic, has been closed and its 60 employees laid off, GamesIndustry International reports. The studio most recently developed EA's free-to-play, browser-based RTS Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances. Purchased by EA in 2004, it was originally founded in 1997 as Phenomic Game Development. "As part of EA's realignment in recent weeks, we have announced internally a small adjustment to some development staff to better focus our teams against priority growth areas," an EA representative told GamesIndustry International. "The decision to let people go is not something we take lightly and we are working to ensure that impacted employees are treated fairly and with respect for their contributions to EA, and with assistance to find other job opportunities." Thus far, this internal restructuring initiative has been responsible for around 900 lost jobs, including layoffs in LA and Montreal, as well as the closure of PopCap Dublin and the reported shuttering of BioWare's San Francisco component.
Iwata: Profitability possible without layoffs
Nintendo global president Satoru Iwata believes that his company can get back into the black without firing any of its employees, through good ol' fashioned efficiency and cost-saving measures. "It is true that our business has its ups and downs every few years, and of course, our ideal situation is to make a profit even in the low periods, return these profits to investors and maintain a high share price," Iwata said during a recent shareholders meeting, in response to a question about "corporate restructuring" as a solution to Nintendo's problems. "If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results," he continued, "employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world." Iwata also noted that global exchange rates have played a major part in Nintendo's financial situation, saying that "the influence of exchange rates is the main aspect of this matter," rather than Nintendo's headcount. "Employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo's business in the long run," he said. "Our current policy is to achieve favorable results by continuously cutting unnecessary expenses and increasing business efficiency."
IBM reportedly cuts over 1,600 US jobs as part of billion-dollar restructuring
Missing your earnings target by five cents a share wouldn't trouble most companies -- but IBM isn't like most companies. That's why it's reportedly implementing a billion-dollar restructuring program that'll see up to 8,000 jobs being lost from the firm. The Alliance@IBM union is reporting that over 1,600 jobs in the US have already been cut, including 165 from chip research and 121 from storage development. Given that the company is also working out ways of making supercomputer Watson pay its own way, it seems that no-one's immune to a spot of belt-tightening.
Report: Microsoft considering major company changes
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is planning major changes within company management, AllThingsD reports. The changes would focus on making Microsoft a "devices and services" company, a focus Ballmer outlined in his shareholder letter in October. "This is a significant shift, both in what we do and how we see ourselves - as a devices and services company," Ballmer wrote. "It impacts how we run the company, how we develop new experiences, and how we take products to market for both consumers and businesses." This restructuring could impact Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment (Xbox) division, giving President Don Mattrick a larger role, the report says. Other top executives may see expanded responsibilities, including Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft's Servers and Tools division, and Tony Bates, president of the Skype communications division. Last week, Nomura Equity Research analyst Rich Sherlund suggested Microsoft sell off its Xbox and Bing divisions, noting that shareholders may demand more influence in the company as they seek larger returns on their investments. Sony, Microsoft's major console competitor, is currently considering an IPO of its entertainment division, following a proposition from Third Point LLC's Daniel Loeb.
Square Enix's three initiatives to reform its AAA business
With the epiphanic clarity that comes at the bottom of the third strawberry milkshake, Square Enix is reimagining the way it interacts with customers and the very definition of "AAA" games. As part of a recently translated results briefing, originally presented on the day the company announced a $134 million loss for the fiscal year, Senior Exec. Managing Director Yosuke Matsuda detailed three new strategic initiatives for the company's AAA business. Square Enix plans to construct a portfolio tailored to consumer tastes in respective regions, after finding it "extremely difficult" to sell major titles worldwide. The company will focus on tablets and mobile. And, finally, it will overhaul large-scale, long-term development to increase asset turnover (i.e. get games out the door). Regarding that final point, Matsuda brings up Kickstarter and Valve's Steam Greenlight/Early Access as models to interact with customers while a game is in development.
Square Enix posts $134M fiscal net loss, projects profit for coming year
As approximately projected, Square Enix posted a net loss of ¥13.7 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31 2013, that converting to around $134 million. Back in March, Square Enix announced it was implementing major restructuring that would produce an "extraordinary loss". Today the company further detailed its new strategy for the next fiscal year, in which it projects a return to profit. "The business environment surrounding the [Square Enix] Group is in the midst of major changes, where smart devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs are spreading rapidly," Square Enix stated in today's results, "while the console game markets in North America and Europe are increasingly competitive and oligopolistic. In light of such environmental changes, the Group is focusing all efforts on a substantial earnings improvement through driving reforms of business structure in order to establish new revenue base." Square Enix previously noted "weak" sales of "big console titles" in North America and Europe, including Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution, and even Tomb Raider. Today the company said it will increasingly target smartphones and tablets, citing Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade and Kaku-San-Sei Million Arthur as satisfactorily profitable. Square Enix also noted Dragon Quest X as "showing steady performance." As such, the restructuring brings overhauls to Square Enix's larger-scale development,with the company looking to improve turnover and produce content better tailored for different regions. Square Enix was clearly dissatisfied with the performance of its western portfolio, and layoffs were incurred in the company's North American and European divisions. Square Enix believes these changes will be the platform for profit in the coming fiscal year, projecting net income of between ¥3.5 billion and ¥6 billion, or $34.4 million to $59 million.
New Square Enix president undertaking full review of company
New Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda plans to go over his company with a fine-toothed comb following Square Enix's recent losses and restructuring efforts, which include layoffs."After having succeeded the important role as the president, I plan on reviewing all Square Enix duties, business and assets on a zero-based budgeting standpoint," Matsuda told investors, as translated by Siliconera. "Due to the radical change of environment, I'd like to fundamentally review what works and what doesn't work for our company, then cast all of our resources towards extending what makes us successful and thoroughly squeezing out what doesn't."Matsuda will appoint Square Enix Europe CEO Phil Rogers as director of Square Enix Holdings. Rogers will work with Matsuda on the restructuring efforts. The Final Fantasy Versus XIII team is currently sitting quietly in their office with all the lights off until Matsuda's review is over.
Square Enix Los Angeles layoff details, CEO rumored to be out by May
Last night we received word Square Enix's Los Angeles office had "a number of positions" eliminated, and we've since been filling in the details. Square Enix America mostly handled marketing, public relations and other logistics for the region. Two sources, who asked we not use their names out of fear it would affect their severance package, shared some more information. Half of marketing has been cut, which is estimated at 10 people. Public relations, which we understand is approximately seven people, will stick around until late June (post E3) – after that only three or four will remain. One source notes more were let go in accounting, IT and events, alongside another five to 10 people who left community and support last week. We've also been informed that Mike Fischer, president and CEO at Square Enix America, will be let go around May. The head of marketing will be let go right after E3. Employees at the Los Angeles office were apparently informed they weren't singled out by corporate and that layoffs will occur at Square Enix's European and Japanese divisions as well, which is all part of the corporate restructuring currently going on at the company.
Sony Computer Entertainment to fuse Asian and Japanese units into one
As part of recent restructuring and cost-cutting efforts, Sony's Computer Entertainment (SCE) division will merge its Asian and Japanese operations into a single entity. The company said that it would result in a new management unit, with SCE Japan president Hiroshi Kawano taking the helm and the Asian unit's ex-chief, Hiroyuki Oda becoming his deputy. Departments like marketing and finance will also merge in an effort to save cash, as the company hopes to stanch all the recent bleeding and try to make its fiscal 2012 a throwback to the glory days.
Panasonic's restructuring plan will let it keep making TVs, for now
After rumors swirled that Panasonic was considering putting a stop to production of its well-regarded plasma HDTVs later this year, the company announced it will stay in the business. President Kazuhiro Tsuga revealed a three year growth plan for Panasonic to focus on batteries and entertainment systems for cars, as well as environmentally friendly housing developments. It will also streamline the number of departments by allowing each division to handle its own products from development to release. The beleaguered TV unit will stay, as Tsuga said it will consider walking away only as a last resort. Additionally, Chairman and former CEO Fumio Ohtsubo will retire in June. Some analysts believe Panasonic will still need to lay off workers if it's to turn things around, but we'll have to wait and see how Tsuga's plan comes together.
T-Mobile acknowledges layoffs at Bellevue headquarters
It's never easy to share news of job losses, but that's the state of things at T-Mobile's US headquarters in Bellevue, Wash. Today, the carrier confirmed to us that layoffs are currently underway, which comes in advance of the UnCarrier's merger with MetroPCS. While T-Mobile representatives withheld specifics, The Seattle Times reports that somewhere between 200 and 300 employees have been laid off, whose jobs range from administrative assistants to senior vice presidents. This news follows reports of job cuts earlier this month, which are said to have affected more than 100 people in the marketing department and other divisions. For its part, T-Mobile suggests the decision was made in order to better focus its resources, which seems plausible, given its scrappy new approach in the mobile industry. It's certainly a bitter pill to swallow, but you'll find the carrier's statement after the break.
NCsoft West confirms layoffs
NCsoft has gone through some "restructuring," leading to the termination of several employee and contract positions. Aion Community Manager Felicia Johnson stated on Twitter that she no longer works for NCsoft. When asked for comment and confirmation, NCsoft PR responded with the following statement: "In an effort to put a greater focus on the success of the Western-developed games from NCSOFT, and the long-term services MMOs require, the company announced further restructuring allowing for focused support from the studio's internal publishing services. As a result of the realignment, several employees and contract positions were affected. This was a very tough decision to make and wish the best for all NCSOFT employees in their next ventures." Our best wishes, as ever, go out to those affected. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]
Square Enix president Wada to step down, $106M 'restructuring' loss [update]
Yoichi Wada is leaving his post as Square Enix president and representative director, Square Enix announced this morning. Wada, who became the company's president and CEO in December 2000, is to be replaced by former company director and CFO Yosuke Matsuda. According to Square Enix's announcement, the change is "subject to a resolution" at the company's annual shareholders meeting in June, and a board of directors meeting held afterwards.The news coincides with Square Enix announcing further major revisions to its fiscal year forecasts, which the company attributes to its decision to implement major restructuring in the wake of "the rapidly changing environment of the game businesses." Square Enix expects the changes, which it noted as affecting development policy, organizational structure, and business models, to incur a total "extraordinary" loss of ¥10 billion, or around $106 million.However, Square Enix says the primary reason for the company's lower-than-expected results is the "sluggish" sales performance of its major games in western territories. When Square Enix announced its nine-month fiscal year net loss of just over ¥5 billion, the company said then it hadn't recovered the losses from earlier in the year because of "the increasingly difficult condition of the worldwide console game market."Today's forecast revisions show a dramatic turnaround for the company's yearly financials. For the fiscal year ending March 31, Square Enix is projecting now a net loss of ¥13 billion, or around $138 million, compared to initial forecasts of a net profit of ¥3.5 billion, around $37 million. The previous fiscal year, Square Enix posted a net profit of just over ¥6 billion.Update: GamesBeat is reporting Square Enix sold a number of its free-to-play games to privately funded start-up Sleepy Giant, with sources "familiar with the matter" saying four unannounced games were included in the deal. Neither party has announced the deal, with a Square Enix representative telling GamesBeat it doesn't "comment on any details for external development deals."
Funcom's Joel Bylos on the centralized TSW, AoC, and AO team
By now, most MMO gamers are pretty familiar with the fact that Funcom underwent restructuring. But what does that mean; what exactly did it entail? The term "restructuring" in itself signifies changes but does nothing to actually enlighten folks on what the changes are. Other than the fact that Joel Bylos was named creative director for all three of Funcom's titles -- Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, and The Secret World -- and that the team will be in one centralized in location, we know little of the details. How many developers survived the restructuring and relocated to remain on the team? Is this move foreshadowing one or more games slipping into maintenance mode? How will the coveted dev attention be divvied up? What does the future hold? Devoid of facts, players are left left wondering about how these changes will impact their favorite games. While chatting with Joel Bylos in an exclusive interview, I was able to ask some of these very questions.
Chaos Theory: Reacting to TSW's restructuring and relocation
It's a conspiracy, I tell you! It has to be; every time The Secret World manages to better secure its footing, the ground starts shaking underneath again. This time, the upheaval comes in the form of the relocation of Funcom's development teams for its three MMOs to Raleigh, North Carolina. Of course, TSW isn't the only game affected by this restructuring, but after the other turbulence buffeting the game in its so-far short life (layoffs, insider trading accusations, changes in key roles), it's hard not to think that the game just can't catch a break. And dangit, it deserves one! Initially, I had other thoughts to share for for today, but after that announcement last Friday, my mind has mostly been on this topic (along with a slew of related "re-" words). How much will this affect the game I adore? Who all will be lost from the team? And what, if anything, can I do to help support the game during this transition? Join me as I explore these questions and possibly discover a solution or two.
Codemasters restructuring, reports suggest 80 layoffs
Grid and Dirt developer Codemasters is consulting "affected employees" as part of a restructuring process, with 80 people reportedly being laid off as a result. A "strong source" told GamesIndustry International the figure, saying the majority of those layoffs are being made at the company's global headquarters in Southam, England.A Codemasters spokesperson told us there is no confirmed number of affected employees, referring to numbers reported elsewhere as "speculative." Codemasters' official statement says the restructuring is "not companywide," and that the process isn't expected to affect development of "core console and PC titles" like Grid 2 and this year's Formula One game.Codemasters' official statement reads: "As the Company realigns its operations to focus on areas of increased strategic importance and decrease resources in areas that are not delivering value for the business, the Company has proposed the restructure of certain aspects within its digital development and publishing units in line with future product strategy. As a result of the proposed restructure, the Company has therefore entered into a period of collective consultation with the affected employees. The restructure is not companywide and is not anticipated to impact the development of its core console and PC titles such as Grid 2 or its annual Formula One title."
