Electronic Arts cutting 800 jobs, roughly 6 percent of workforce

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced plans to cut 6 percent of its workforce, equal to about 800 jobs.

In a memo posted Wednesday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson told employees that the popular video game company is “moving away from projects that do not contribute to our strategy, reviewing our real estate footprint, and restructuring some of our teams.”

“These decisions are expected to impact approximately six percent of our company’s workforce. This is the most difficult part, and we are working through the process with the utmost care and respect,” Wilson wrote in his memo.

“Where we can, we are providing opportunities for our colleagues to transition onto other projects. Where that’s not possible, we are providing severance pay and additional benefits such as health care and career transition services,” he added. “Communicating these decisions began earlier this quarter and we expect them to continue through early next fiscal year.”

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing obtained by CNBC, EA, the maker of popular video game franchises such as Madden NFL and FIFA, is expecting to take impairment charges ranging from $170 to $200 million.

This comes after EA reported falling short of quarterly revenue estimates in January and provided a bookings forecast that was weaker than expected, CNBC reported. 

The job cuts at EA follow announcements of a slew of layoffs at other tech companies, such as Spotify, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. The companies have cited slow revenue growth and growing concerns about the U.S. facing another recession period. 

Disney also recently eliminated its Metaverse unit, which housed 50 employees, as part of its plan to lay off 7,000 employees to save the company billions of dollars. 

“I want to extend my deep appreciation to all our employees who have contributed to our incredible story so far. It’s through your love of games that we continue to deliver on our mission of inspiring the world to play,” Wilson said in his memo. “Looking forward, we are focused on writing our next great chapter by bringing more amazing games to more people around the world — inspiring them to build community, participate in shared fandom, and have joyful experiences.”