Sony said about a «difficult decision» – the company is forced to «restructure its operations» and has decided to start reducing the staff of the PlayStation division. This will allow us to «optimize resources».
In total, it is planned to lay off about 8% (about 900 people) in different regions of the world. This will include employees of PlayStation’s own studios. Staff reductions will be made «in accordance with local laws and the consultation process».
It seems that employees in the UK will be the most affected. According to available information, the London PlayStation Studios will be completely closed. There will also be redundancies at Firesprite Studios and various layoffs are expected at Sony Interactive Entertainment in the UK. In Japan, the company will introduce a program of further career support. Bloomberg adds The company announced that the layoffs will affect developers from Insomniac (behind Marvel’s Spider-Man), Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and Guerrilla (Horizon). These are three of its most successful subsidiaries.
*These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success and we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed tremendously, and we need to prepare for the future to prepare the business for what lies ahead. We need to meet the expectations of developers and gamers and continue to develop the technologies of the future in gaming, so we’ve taken a step back to make sure we’re ready to continue to deliver the best gaming experiences for the community»,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The company adds that the reorganization and optimization plans are aimed at «continuing to provide the best gaming experience».