layoffs
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SCEE may lay off 10 percent of staff
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe may be tightening its belt in the coming days, with a layoff of up to 10% of its workforce (about 160 employees) on the horizon. GameDaily BIZ has confirmed with SCEE spokesman Nick Sharples that the firings are in the works. Sharples' tone suggests that the layoffs are all but a certainty. The exact number of pink slips to be handed out, drawn from GameDaily's anonymous tipster, is still unconfirmed. Sharples chalks up the downsizing to the company's need to streamline operations and reduce costs, which seems like as good a reason as any to lay off some of your staff. There will obviously be temptation to lump this together with negative PS3 sales reports or price drops in the UK, but we'd rather not turn the firing of 160 humans into flamewar fodder. Here are the facts: 1) The company's game division lost around $446 million last year, a drop of more than $1 billion from the year prior. 2) Companies hate losing money. 3) There is no number three. Our sympathies go out to those who might soon be jobless. May we suggest PC gaming as your next endeavor? Romero says it's going to be huge.
Vonage shakeup: CEO resigns, cost-cutting announced
In a series of events meant to stir things up at a company that many analysts have already written of as dead, Vonage CEO Michael Snyder has resigned on the same day that the pioneering VoIP provider announced a series of cost-cutting maneuvers, including operations consolidation, a reduction in marketing, and predictably, layoffs. Formerly president of ADT, Snyder led the company since February of last year, when he replaced founder and current Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Citron in that role -- the same man who will once again hold the CEO title while replacements are scouted. The shakeup seems to have buoyed investor confidence somewhat following the courtroom setbacks in that Verizon patent suit, with Vonage shares up as much as 13 cents in premarket trading; however, it's a rather hollow victory when you consider that the ~$3.00 stock went for as much as $17.88 this time last year. So while it's good to see Vonage making some proactive moves in the face of what can only be considered a deathwatch, there's only so much the company can do to affect its own fate, and at this point we could be just a ruling or two away from the end.[Photo courtesy of CNET]
Motorola to lay off 3,500
Could the unprecedented wave of RAZR popularity finally be drawing to a close? Probably not -- CEO Ed Zander says Moto sold more of them this past quarter than ever before -- but that isn't stopping the world's number two manufacturer from tighting the belt a notch and cleaning up shop. On account of some lackluster performance to close out '06, the company looks to drop about 3,500 folks from its payroll (a full 5 percent of its workforce) but has no plans to change its overall product strategy. In fact, perhaps due in part to the layoffs, it looks to post full-year revenues of $46 billion or more, above analyst estimates. In other words: expect more RAZRs and RAZR-alikes. As long as they follow the V6 MAXX theme, though, that may not be an entirely bad thing.
Get laid off, give back the iPod says National Semiconductor
Remember a few weeks ago we wrote about National Semiconductor raking in the dough and handing out iPods to all their employees? Well, it looks like those iPods weren't a reward after all, but rather company equipment. National Semiconductor laid off 35 factory workers, which is odd given their huge profits but welcome to the 21st Century I suppose. Anyway, not only did these people lose their jobs but on the way out National Semiconductor said, 'Ah, yes and we'll be needing those iPods back, thanks!'That's right, the iPods, according to the company, weren't gifts but rather company hardware. Sadly, many employees didn't know that and gave the iPods away, or sold them. Worry not laid off folks, you can just pay National Semiconductor $300 and they'll call it even.Thanks, Anne.
EA gobbles up the rest of Battlefield developer DICE
According to GamesIndustry.biz, "DICE's board of directors has unanimously agreed on a joint merger plan" with Battlefield publisher EA.If all goes well, Digital Illusions CE will become fully owned by the largest 3rd-party publisher in the world when stockholders meet and vote on the measure May 24th. EA already owns two-thirds of the company's shares.Like any large company, EA has bought smaller competitors like Criterion and important industry players like Jamdat to buy its way into new markets and franchises, so this is nothing new. We simply wish DICE the best in the future (with hopefully few future layoffs because of this deal).
EA layoffs may be looming
A well-informed anonymous tipster has let us know that EA may be gearing up for big layoffs. Though the company hasn't made any announcements, here are some contributing factors that might lead to layoffs, if the rumor is true: The delays of their highly anticipated The Godfather game have proven costly, resulting in poor earnings for the quarter ending in June. And it's still not out. Lower-than-expected sales of Xbox 360 titles, due to lower-than-expected Xbox 360 sales. The transition period between console cycles often brings turbulence: "the big four [game publishers]... will suffer from declining sales with established franchises, as they struggle to meet the shortfall with new, next generation I.P." We'll keep our ears open for any more information, but it looks like EA might be in some rough waters.
