EA to lay off about 5% of its workforce, end development of some videogames

By Mike Murphy

Videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc. said Wednesday it will cut about 5% of its workforce and plans to cancel some games in development.

In a letter to employees, Chief Executive Andrew Wilson said "we are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans."

He said the layoffs will affect about 5% of the company's global workforce, which would be around 670 people, based on a staff of 13,400 as of last March, according to an SEC filing.

"We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed IP that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry," Wilson said, allowing EA (EA) to "double down on our biggest opportunities - including our owned IP, sports and massive online communities."

It was unclear what games will be canceled. EA has a number of videogames from major franchises such as Marvel and "Star Wars" in development. EA also develops the "Madden NFL" football game, "EA Sports FC" soccer game and the "Apex Legends" franchise.

The videogame industry - as well as the wider tech industry - has been wracked by layoffs over the last year-plus, with more than 10,000 jobs cut in 2023 and about 8,000 so far this year.

Last March, EA laid off about 6% of its workforce.

EA's latest cuts come a day after Sony (SONY) slashed about 900 jobs in its PlayStation unit. Last month, Microsoft (MSFT) said it would cut about 1,900 workers following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Amazon's (AMZN) Twitch, Unity Software (U) and Riot Games have also announced layoffs this year.

Last month, EA said that while gaming demand improved over the holiday quarter, it expected fiscal fourth-quarter net bookings, a gauge of physical and digital sales, to decline year over year.

EA shares were little changed Wednesday. The stock is up about 2% year to date and has gained about 27% over the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500's SPX 6% rise in 2024 and 28% gain over the past year.

-Mike Murphy

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-28-24 2037ET

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.