Sony to lay off 900 workers in its PlayStation division
Sony will cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division, or about 8% of its global workforce, becoming the latest company in the technology and gaming sector to announce layoffs.
The company cited changes in the industry as a reason for the restructuring. The job cuts will occur in the Americas, Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia Pacific region.
Why is the $180bn games industry shedding thousands of staff?
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The Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan, said in a blogpost on Tuesday: “We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.”
Tuesday’s layoffs arrive one month after Microsoft said it would cut nearly 2,000 workers after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. And Riot Games, the developer of the popular League of Legends multiplayer battle game, said in January that it was laying off 11% of its staff.
In London, the PlayStation Studio will completely close. Cuts will also be made at Firesprite studio. In addition, reductions will take place in various functions across Sony Interactive Entertainment in the UK, the company said. Severance benefits will be provided to those employees that are affected.
“While these are challenging times, it is not indicative of a lack of strength of our company, our brand, or our industry,” Ryan said. “Our goal is to remain agile and adaptable and to continue to focus on delivering the best gaming experiences possible now and in the future.”
Sony struggled to meet demand for its Playstation 5 console, released near the end of 2020, due to recurring supply chain issues before achieving high sales numbers.