Despite having four of the top ten selling games in 2005, Electronic Arts is doing some major reorganization. Gamespot has received confirmation that EA has laid off 5% of their workforce. The company employs somewhere between 6,500 and 7,000 people, meaning that anywhere from 325 to 350 people received pink slips. EA Canada, Redwood Shores, and Tiburon (Florida) were all affected by the cuts, according to an unnamed source.
A company spokesperson told Gamespot that the layoffs are “due to the fact that we are in a transition period…every division is going through this resource evaluation.”
It’s no coincidence that the firing came one day before EA’s third quarter earnings reports are scheduled to be released. Several of the companies’ games failed to reach expectations this holiday season, and speculation is that profits didn’t reach expectations.