Over the past few months, Gameloft’s Kharkiv office has been subject to large-scale layoffs. Even the head of the studio, who had been working there for 14 years, as well as game designers, QA engineers, and developers were laid off.
How reports DOU, citing its own sources, said that even more people were laid off in Kharkiv than in the Lviv studio.
The exact number of people who lost their positions could not be determined. Gameloft has no communication between teams from different projects. However, there was information in the Kharkiv office that more people were laid off than in Lviv.
It should be noted here that 38 employees were laid off in February at Gameloft Lviv. The reason given was the need to optimize resources Accordingly, we can assume that more than 40 people were fired in Kharkiv.
The head of the studio, Artem Nabatov, was also included in this list. He had worked for the company for over 14 years. According to our information, the head was the first to be fired.
«We were warned more or less in advance — we were not fired on the same day. The process was unpleasant because the management first said that there would be layoffs. And then — they made everyone personally ask about their fate. However, no answers were given, arguing that it was “not a final decision”. Then, a counseling session was held for everyone, where the reason for their dismissal was given. After that, the terms of the layoff were announced — from 2 weeks to 3 months. Since everything happened towards the end of winter, people left the company gradually. The process continued into the spring,» the sources said.
The employees who lost their jobs did not receive any compensation. The management argued that people were not fired immediately, but were given the opportunity «to work for some time». The only thing that the specialists received — were payments for unused vacation days.
As of January 2024, Gameloft’s Kharkiv and Lviv offices employed a total of 600 people.