Nach den Berichten mit dem enttäuschenden Konsolenabsatz und Gewinn folgen leider schlechte Nachrichten auch für die Belegschaft: 8 %, in Zahlen 900, der Belegschaft werden bei Sony Interactive Entertainment entlassen.
Betroffene Studios sind:
- Insomniac Games (Spider-Man 1, Ratchet & Clank)
- Naughty Dog (Uncharted, The Last of Us)
- London Studio (VR, Blood & Truth)
- Guerrilla Games (Horizon, Killzone)
- Firesprite (VR, Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain)
- weitere, einige kleinere Kürzungen in anderen Teams der PlayStation Studios
Dabei wurden London Studios komplett geschlossen und existieren nicht mehr. Des Weiteren sind die allgemeinen PlayStation-Bereiche wie Technology, Creative und Support betroffen.
Sony teilten das für die Öffentlichkeit per Blog-Beitrag mit. In diesem werden auch ein paar Punkte genannt. Die PlayStation 5 sei jetzt im vierten Jahr und Sony sei an einem Punkt angelangt, an denen sie einen Schritt zurücktreten und überlegen müssen, was das Unternehmen benötigt.
Sony wollen die Arbeitweise innerhalb der Studios neu überdenken. Die Bereitstellung und Aufrechterhaltung sozialer Online-Erlebnisse sowie die Einführung von PC- und Smartphone-Spielen sollen einen anderen Ansatz und andere Ressourcen erforden.
Sie haben sich die Studios und das Portfolie angesehen und Projekte in verschiedenen Entwicklungsstadien bewertet. Dabei soll entschieden worden sein, dass einige Projekte nicht weitergeführt werden.
Jim Ryan hat sich persönlich auch an die Fans gewandt und transparent seine E-Mail von heute Morgen an alle ging, veröffentlicht:
Subject: Important Update Regarding Organizational Restructuring
Team,
It is important to provide you with updates about the business as often as possible. Today, I am writing with sad news. Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable. The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success.
After careful consideration and many leadership discussions over several months, it has become clear changes need to be made to continue to grow the business and develop the company. We had to step back, look at our business holistically, and move forward focusing on the long-term sustainability of the company and delivering the best experiences possible for our community. The goal is to streamline our resources to ensure our continued success and ability to deliver experiences gamers and creators have come to expect from us.
I want to be as transparent as possible with you, our partners, and our community about what this means:
We envision reducing our headcount by about 900 people, or about 8% of our current workforce
There will be impact for employees across all SIE regions – Americas, EMEA, Japan, and APAC
Several PlayStation Studios are affected
I know that receiving this news will be hard and unsettling and you are wondering what this means for you. Timelines and procedures for how we approach this will vary based on your location due to local laws and regulations.
For those of you in the US, all impacted employees will be notified today.
In the UK, it is proposed:
That PlayStation Studios’ London Studio will close in its entirety;
That there will be reductions in Firesprite studio;
And that there will be reductions in various functions across SIE in the UK.
The proposed changes mean that we will enter a period of collective consultation before any final decisions are taken. All employees who are part of the collective consultation will be made aware of the next steps today.
In Japan, we will implement a next career support program. Details will be communicated separately.
In other countries, we will begin conversations with those who are potentially at risk or impacted as a result of this proposed course of action.
For those who will be leaving SIE: You are leaving this company with our deepest respect and appreciation for all your efforts during your tenure.
For those who will be staying at SIE: We will be saying goodbye to friends and colleagues that we cherish during this process, and this will be painful. Your resilience, sensitivity, and adaptiveness will be critical in the weeks and months to come.
This will not be easy, and I am aware of the impact it will have on wellbeing. Affected employees will receive support, including severance benefits. While these are challenging times, it is not indicative of a lack of strength of our company, our brand, or our industry. Our goal is to remain agile and adaptable and to continue to focus on delivering the best gaming experiences possible now and in the future.
Thank you for your understanding during this difficult period. Please be kind to yourselves and to each other.
Jim
Team,
It is important to provide you with updates about the business as often as possible. Today, I am writing with sad news. Through discussions over the past few months about the evolving economic landscape, changes in the way we develop, distribute, and launch products, and ensuring our organization is future ready in this rapidly changing industry, we have concluded that tough decisions have become inevitable. The leadership team and I made the incredibly difficult decision to restructure operations, which regrettably includes a reduction in our workforce impacting very talented individuals who have contributed to our success.
After careful consideration and many leadership discussions over several months, it has become clear changes need to be made to continue to grow the business and develop the company. We had to step back, look at our business holistically, and move forward focusing on the long-term sustainability of the company and delivering the best experiences possible for our community. The goal is to streamline our resources to ensure our continued success and ability to deliver experiences gamers and creators have come to expect from us.
I want to be as transparent as possible with you, our partners, and our community about what this means:
We envision reducing our headcount by about 900 people, or about 8% of our current workforce
There will be impact for employees across all SIE regions – Americas, EMEA, Japan, and APAC
Several PlayStation Studios are affected
I know that receiving this news will be hard and unsettling and you are wondering what this means for you. Timelines and procedures for how we approach this will vary based on your location due to local laws and regulations.
For those of you in the US, all impacted employees will be notified today.
In the UK, it is proposed:
That PlayStation Studios’ London Studio will close in its entirety;
That there will be reductions in Firesprite studio;
And that there will be reductions in various functions across SIE in the UK.
The proposed changes mean that we will enter a period of collective consultation before any final decisions are taken. All employees who are part of the collective consultation will be made aware of the next steps today.
In Japan, we will implement a next career support program. Details will be communicated separately.
In other countries, we will begin conversations with those who are potentially at risk or impacted as a result of this proposed course of action.
For those who will be leaving SIE: You are leaving this company with our deepest respect and appreciation for all your efforts during your tenure.
For those who will be staying at SIE: We will be saying goodbye to friends and colleagues that we cherish during this process, and this will be painful. Your resilience, sensitivity, and adaptiveness will be critical in the weeks and months to come.
This will not be easy, and I am aware of the impact it will have on wellbeing. Affected employees will receive support, including severance benefits. While these are challenging times, it is not indicative of a lack of strength of our company, our brand, or our industry. Our goal is to remain agile and adaptable and to continue to focus on delivering the best gaming experiences possible now and in the future.
Thank you for your understanding during this difficult period. Please be kind to yourselves and to each other.
Jim
