Tuesday, March 26th 2019
Electronic Arts Lets Go of 350 Employees Amidst Internal Restructuring
It would be a safe bet to admit that Electronic Arts (EA) has not had the best 12, or even 24, months as a publisher. While their sports division continues to thrive, it may well be the one business unit holding down the fort. Their use of the Star Wars license has been dubious at best when it comes to execution, with reports on cancelled games and Battlefront II (the new one) not meeting expectations. Battlefield V has also not lit the field on fire, unless you are playing the new Firestorm battle royal mode in a literal sense, and the less said about Anthem the better. Apex Legends was introduced to much fanfare at launch, but the recent battle pass has soured many on the future of this new IP.
Perhaps it was a matter of when, rather than if, that the company would find a personnel restructure to be in order, and today just happened to be the day. EA CEO Andrew Wilson helped put out a statement on their website, recognizing a challenging world ahead and that they are "making deliberate moves to better deliver on our commitments, refine our organization and meet the needs" of players. These moves and changes involve letting go of as many as 350 people (out of 9000 total, or around 4%) unfortunately, most of whom are on their publicity and marketing departments, while also toning down their presence in Japan and Russia. We here at TechPowerUp are always saddened to hear such news, and take solace in knowing that EA is helping the laid-off personnel find new employment opportunities.
Source:
Electronic Arts
Perhaps it was a matter of when, rather than if, that the company would find a personnel restructure to be in order, and today just happened to be the day. EA CEO Andrew Wilson helped put out a statement on their website, recognizing a challenging world ahead and that they are "making deliberate moves to better deliver on our commitments, refine our organization and meet the needs" of players. These moves and changes involve letting go of as many as 350 people (out of 9000 total, or around 4%) unfortunately, most of whom are on their publicity and marketing departments, while also toning down their presence in Japan and Russia. We here at TechPowerUp are always saddened to hear such news, and take solace in knowing that EA is helping the laid-off personnel find new employment opportunities.
50 Comments on Electronic Arts Lets Go of 350 Employees Amidst Internal Restructuring
Given how most of the newer EA trailers are strait up false advertising.
Their PR department contains some of the most unhelpful personal to player complaints.
Also, it's quite shortsighted to think it was these people alone who decided EAs' focus of advertising. They are given shitty material to work and have to make it look good, it's not their fault Battlefront 2 was a pile of hot shit and the other games aren't really innovative nor cheap. And as for false advertisement, blame on deregulation who let these companies do that without real consequences.
If everyone boycotted EA and said "I'm not buying anymore EA games till they remove this shit" then of course EA would have to respond. But the problem is that even though the gaming community is one entity as a whole, we're just not very good at being completely united in the things that we do.
A load of people called for a boycott of Anthem when they messed with the loot drops. While a lot of people were very vocal about it on reddit, I bet you less than half of those who were shouting about it and nodding their heads in agreement with others, ignored the boycott and got their head stuck in the game.
Same with Metro Exodus. I'm sure the game sold moderately well because and people caved in and downloaded epic launcher to buy it. While the sales aren't as high as they could of been. They've already been handsomely compensated for it.
So yeah I have been in similar situations before, guess what happened?
I found a new job, because you will if you are a competent personnel.
Also EA is being the "good guy" and help them find new jobs.
I doubt EA is the kind of employer that treats their workforce nicely anyway, given how exploitative EA is in their nature.
GG
If they've been getting a free ride for too long and not pulling their weight, sometimes it's best to burn the dead wood and start afresh.
It is nothing new, EA just like other poorly ran corporations starts laying off people that have the least to do with the problem until they either turn around or sink.
In this case I doubt EA marketing is all the innocent little lambs you would have hoped.
If their board member resigned or got demoted - I would stand up and clap. Sadly I don't see that happening any time soon as scum that sits there will never take any responsibility for their actions.
There are jobs out there, and as long as they are legal and ethical I wouldn't consider them 'bad'.Don't get me wrong, I am not implying the marketing guys are the only ones to blame.
But I wouldn't feel bad or be surprised that anyone lose their job at EA when the company have been ran poorly for years.
Maybe I would if the sanitizer cleaning the toilet gets fired for the blame, but those are usually out-sourced anyway :roll:
Don't give them the time of day. The only ones more dishonest in a company are the execs.
Now, people will blame the devs every time (me included), but in the case of EA...I blame EA. They're the overarching hand of failure.
Andrew Wilson step aside and let someone with REAL know how operate EA like a proper game company. NOT like you, trying to make games out of greed with loot boxes and premature buggy releases just make your bottom line look good end of quarter.
RockStar is a great example, take time to develop a really amazing games with few bugs and make shit loads of money.
The sooner EA collapses, the better - they haven't done anything positive for gamers in almost two decades now, but the list of IPs and developers they've murdered is truly saddening. RIP to Visceral, Mythic, Bullfrog, Origin, Westwood, DreamWorks Interactive, Danger Close, EA Los Angeles (Medal of Honor), Phenomic, Black Box Games, Pandemic, PlayFish, NuFX. We also have to watch current devs like Maxxis and DICE die a slow death as EA ruin great ideas with stupid greed and monetisation.