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Disney Interactive lays off 700, plans to scale back annual game output [Update]
Disney laid off one-quarter of its global staff in its video games and Internet division, Disney Interactive, The New York Times reported Thursday. The 26 percent decrease in staff amounts to roughly 700 job losses and also points to a change in strategy for the company, which is expected to scale back annual game output "by as much as 50 percent," the report reads. While profits for Disney Interactive rose in Q1 2014 thanks to the success of Disney Infinity, as it reported a 38 percent increase in revenue year-over-year for that period, it also reported losses in Q3 2013 and Q2 2013 to the tune of $58 million and $54 million, respectively. The layoffs also affect the Internet side of the company's interactive division, which will shutter BabyZone.com and Spoonful.com and move towards sponsorship-based advertising for Disney.com as a result. Prospective layoffs for Disney Interactive were numbered in the hundreds according to reports from one month ago. We've reached out to Disney to determine whether today's layoffs are the same ones in question, and will update as we learn more. Update: Disney Interactive responded to Joystiq with the following statement: "Disney Interactive has consolidated several lines of business as part of an effort to focus the division on a streamlined suite of high quality digital products. As a result of this restructuring, we have undergone a reduction in workforce. These actions were difficult but necessary given our long-term strategy focused on sustainable profitability and innovation." [Image: Disney Interactive]
AMD could slash up to 30 percent of its workforce according to reports
AllThingsD and CNET are reporting that 30 percent of AMD's workforce could be laid off, though one of several unnamed sources notes the cuts could be as low as 10 percent. If these reports hold true, this would be the second round of layoffs for AMD within a year's time. The reductions will reportedly affect the firm's engineering and sales employees, and may be serious enough to cause a paring back of product lines. The silicon giant could potentially reveal its plans as early as next week, which would coincide with the announcement of its third quarter financial results. With the company expecting a ten percent revenue drop in Q3, it looks like the latest figures will continue the trend of less than ideal results.
T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm issues memo discussing restructuring plans, more jobs affected (update)
T-Mobile's going through some more growing pains as it continues through the process of restructuring. Less than two months after announcing it would close down seven call centers and cut a total of 3,300 jobs, CEO Philipp Humm has sent out another memo discussing that the company is ready to take the "second essential step" by announcing a new structure -- unfortunately, it means another round of layoffs is coming sometime this week. Humm gives no details on who will be affected, nor does he go into specifics on the new organizational structure that apparently is resulting in the loss of jobs. Head below the break to read the full message from the CEO. Update: Reuters is reporting that 900 T-Mobile employees stand to lose their jobs as a result of the most recent round of layoffs.
EVE Evolved: The human casualties
This time last year, EVE Online developer CCP Games was an untouchable powerhouse in the games industry. In addition to servicing around 350,000 EVE subscribers, the company was also developing the World of Darkness MMO and the full scale MMOFPS DUST 514 set on the planets of EVE. Everything seemed to be going fine, but with the release of Incarna at the end of June, CCP faced the biggest crisis in the company's history. Due to a series of missteps and internal leaks that has come to be collectively known as Monoclegate, player confidence in CCP plummeted to record low. Following the CEO's recent letter of apology promising a refocusing of development on in-space EVE features, news of highly requested features due for inclusion in EVE has gone a long way toward restoring confidence in CCP as a developer. With the return of ship spinning earlier this week and news of updates from hybrid turret rebalancing and implants being added to killmails to the release of the player-designed Tornado battlecruiser, the process of refocusing on EVE is well underway. Unfortunately, the good news of upcoming gameplay updates has been marred by the sobering reality that over 20% of CCP's worldwide staff have been laid off as part of the refocusing effort. In this week's EVE Evolved, I look at the human casualties of the recent EVE drama and speak to an insider at CCP about what's going on within the company. Unless quotes or facts in this article are specifically attributed to this insider, they are my own views and opinions based on publicly available information.
Skype happy to offer jobs to any Finns who might be in need
Over 1,000 disgruntled Nokistas walked off the job last week and, while presumably all of them showed up punctually on Monday morning, it remains to be seen how many will get proverbial pink slips as Elop starts making cuts. When that time comes Skype is happy to say that they'd like to hire as many as possible. CEO Tony Bates has no qualms about making the best of this situation, saying the following to Reuters: There is going to be tremendous talent out there... "Our primary engineering focus just so happens to be somewhere between Finland, Estonia and Stockholm, so you can imagine that's a great opportunity and we're hiring. Hear that, shunned Nokia elite? Now turn that frown upside down.
Layoffs hit Paragon Studios
A rumor has just broken that Paragon Studios, the team responsible for City of Heroes, has just undergone a round of layoffs. This comes following the launch of Going Rogue, the game's second boxed expansion and center of a major re-arrangement for the game. Among those rumored to be laid off is Christopher Bruce, known to the fans of the game as Back Alley Brawler and the senior animation lead for the studio. While there have been rumors for some time that the team had been expanding and working on an additional project, possibly a sequel to the now-venerable City of Heroes, it's unknown what long-term impacts these layoffs might have on both the existing game and any future projects. We contacted NCsoft and received official confirmation of the layoffs, but the company thus far has been unable to provide information on who, exactly, has been let go. Our condolences go out to all employees affected by the layoffs.
Recession Roundup: volume... oh nevermind
We like to spread good vibes around here, so believe us, we're getting pretty tired of this global economic collapse. However, there's more bad news to dole out. Kodak's reported a 24 percent sales drop and announced it's cutting up to 4,500 workers this year, while Toshiba posted its first loss in seven years, and announced cuts that would bring their expenditures down 80 percent from the current year. Finally, although this was previously predicted, Sony's announced that its profits were down a staggering 95 percent last quarter -- its first-ever third quarter loss posting. The Federation is not going to be pleased.Read - Kodak posts loss, to cut up to 4,500 jobsRead - Toshiba reports Q3 lossRead - Sony's quarterly net profits tumble 95 percent
Recession roundup: Monday morning edition
It wasn't that long ago that Monday mornings in the office were a depressing time -- another cheerful weekend gone; another long week of work ahead. But, these days, being in the office on a Monday is a good thing, because if your login still works you've survived another scary layoff Friday. Spare a thought, then, for those whose system access has been cut off, including 1,300 from Sun (the first wave of a total of 6,000 planned job cuts), 8,000 workers at Sprint who are due to receive pink slips, 6,000 from Philips, and an unannounced number of IBM workers (rumored to be 16,000) who have also found themselves to be on the wrong side of the cost-cutting ax. In one final bit of cheery news, AMD has reported a $1.4 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008 and, after shedding its handheld graphics unit, is now selling its manufacturing operations to Advanced Technology Investment. Oh, sorry, you were hoping for some genuinely good news? How about this: that loss is smaller than AMD's $1.8 billion loss from the same time last year. Now have a great day!Read - Sun confirms 1,300 layoffsRead - Sprint Nextel Plans to Cut 8,000 Jobs in QuarterRead - Philips to Release 6000 Employees into WildRead - Several IBM employees report being laid off on Alliance@IBMRead - IBM Confirms LayoffsRead - AMD Reports $1.4 Billion Loss
EA posts profits loss, cuts jobs
It's no secret that EA has their hands in some interesting projects coming down the pipe. Skate It, Rock Band 2, and that horror game we're waiting for are just a few that immediately come to mind. Whether these will be a big success for the company or not, we will have to wait and see (well, you can pretty much guess the second game in that brief list will make them a bunch of cash).They could use some success, though. The company is apparently at a loss for profits, as they're down during Q2 of this year, forcing the company to cut some jobs. Around 500 to 600 across all functions and locations, to be exact, as the company posted a loss of $310 million during Q2."Considering the slowdown at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," said John Riccitiello. "Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular."%Gallery-22799%
