Cavin-SmithEven with all the bad news targetted at Sony recently, they haven't exactly lost the console wars yet (and they probably won't in the long run), which is why word of major personnel loss can be taken either way.
GameSutra reports that Mark DeLoura, Manager of Developer Relations for SCEA, is leaving the company for a cushy new position at Ubisoft. Though probably not very well known by the general public, Mr. DeLoura has garnered a fair amount of respect within the industry – especially in the quality control sector. Previous positions include being the EIC of Game Developer magazine and lead development support engineer for Nintendo of America, both jobs that should qualify DeLoura as knowing his stuff.
Except "knowing his stuff" is the concern here – the word is that DeLoura's experience may be telling of some internal problems with the PS3 at Sony and concerns over the impending hardware launch. However, his reasons haven't been made known to the public. It's just as likely that Ubisoft offered him more money and a more comfortable position.