Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Electronic Arts, maker of Madden NFL, to cut 5 per cent of staff as gaming industry layoffs widen

Electronic Arts plans to lay off 5 per cent of its employees, making it the latest company in the gaming and tech space to reduce its workforce. (Mike Blake/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
Electronic Arts plans to lay off 5 per cent of its employees, making it the latest company in the gaming and tech space to reduce its workforce. (Mike Blake/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
Share
NEW YORK -

Electronic Arts plans to lay off 5 per cent of its employees, making it the latest company in the gaming and tech space to reduce its workforce.

EA, the maker of lucrative game franchises such as the Madden NFL games and Apex Legends, said the layoffs are part of a broader restructuring aimed at supporting "strategic priorities and growth initiatives," according to a Tuesday securities filing. EA added that it plans to reduce its office space footprint.

The company also indicated it plans to make changes to its future content slate.

"We are also sunsetting games and moving away from development of future licensed (intellectual property) that we do not believe will be successful in our changing industry," EA CEO Andrew Wilson said in a memo to employees on Wednesday that was included in the company's securities filing. "We are streamlining our company operations to deliver deeper, more connected experiences for fans everywhere that build community, shape culture, and grow fandom."

The video game industry has been slashing jobs over the past year. EA itself laid off around 800 employees last year.

Epic Games cut 830 jobs in September. In January, Tencent's Riot Games said it would lay off 11 per cent of its workforce and Microsoft said it would cut 1,900 jobs from its Activision Blizzard and Xbox gaming divisions. And electronics giant Sony said on Tuesday it would cut 8 per cent of its global workforce, amounting to around 900 jobs.

EA said in its most recent annual report, filed in May of last year, that it had 13,400 employees as of March 31, 2023. That means that after its cuts to staff last year, Wednesday's layoffs could affect more than 600 workers.

EA's stock closed up nearly 0.5 per cent on Wednesday. The company's shares have risen nearly 27 per cent from this time last year.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Trudeau government survives another Conservative-led non-confidence vote

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.

Tributes have started pouring in for a Midland, Ont. man who died after reportedly being struck by an unmarked provincial police vehicle over the weekend.

Local Spotlight

On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

Stay Connected