2019 seems to be the year of corporate instability in the gaming industry. Hot on the heels of Activision’s mass layoff of 800 people back in February, Electronic Arts seems to be making staff cuts as well. Hope may not be lost for all of those involved in the EA layoffs, however.

According to an internal e-mail acquired by Kotaku from Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson to his employees, 350 people have been laid-off. This decision was made to, “streamline decision-making in the marketing and publishing departments,” though EA’s Russian and Japanese offices are also affected and possibly facing closure.

There is a ray of hope involved though. Severance pay is stated to be offered to anyone laid-off, and EA was quoted as saying that they are, “working with employees to try and find other roles within the company.” Hopefully, that means that the 350 employee total will be less than people are expecting. According to Kotaku’s sources, these layoffs have been expected for some time, considering there has been a hiring freeze for several months now.

As awful as it is that there are layoffs like this at all, at least EA seems to be handling this in a relatively professional and respectful way. Trying to integrate existing staff into other areas, rather than laying them off is a step in the right direction, though it obviously won’t work for every staff member. It is also important to mention that EA reached out to Kotaku with further commentary, stating that they employ around 9000 people across their branches.

As previously mentioned, this comes a month after Activision laid off 800 people, only to tell investors that the layoffs might, “negatively impact business.” Other major studios have encountered layoffs recently, such as ArenaNet, and of course the complete closure of Telltale Games. The difference between Telltale and this case, however, is that Telltale did not pay any type of severance, and the company was hiring up until its closure.

As layoffs go, this isn’t the worst. However, our hearts go out to those who are displaced as a result of these layoffs. At the end of the day, those employees put their hearts and souls into EA projects, so all we can hope for is that they find swift employment for their peace of mind and their families.

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