EA, the company that was recently named “Worst Company of the Year” for the second time in a row, has closed down their EA Mobile Montreal studio. According to different reports as many as 300 people may have lost their jobs as a result of the closure. The bulk of the layoffs affect the developers and the quality assurance staff of EA Mobile Montreal.
EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile. In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization. These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world.
It’s not too surprising to see EA downsizing its workforce. After all, the company has had numerous issues over the last year which have cut into their profits, and even led to the resignation of their CEO. I hope that the employees who lost their jobs yesterday manage to land on their feet soon enough.