One other day, one other spherical of online game business layoffs. This time Amazon is shedding roughly 180 staff from its gaming division, as confirmed in an inner electronic mail from Christoph Hartmann, VP of Amazon Video games.
As reported by Aftermath on November 13, Amazon is letting go of round 180 staff in its video games division. Aftermath’s Nathan Grayson studies that these layoffs embrace the whole employees of the Amazon-owned Twitch channel referred to as Crown Channel. The location was capable of affirm with Amazon that the layoffs had been taking place and obtained a duplicate of the e-mail despatched by Hartmann to firm staff.
Within the electronic mail from Hartmann, the Amazon exec defined that it’s listening to its clients and will probably be focusing extra of its assets on the free video games that Amazon Prime members obtain every month. Hartmann blames these modifications for immediately’s layoffs.
“I do know that is tough information and that the impression will probably be felt broadly,” Hartmann mentioned.
“It by no means feels good to say goodbye to colleagues. This isn’t a choice the management workforce got here to rapidly; it was the results of in depth concerns and street mapping for our future.”
The exec defined that Amazon was “happy with the work” achieved by these staff, however added: “After additional analysis of our companies, it grew to become clear that we have to focus our assets and efforts to ship nice video games to gamers now and sooner or later.”
This newest spherical of layoffs hitting Amazon’s gaming division follows April layoffs that noticed over 100 staff from the identical division eradicated. And as anybody listening to the sport business in 2023 has possible observed, these mass layoffs have gotten a pattern.
For the reason that begin of 2023 Firaxis, Ubisoft, Unity, CD Projekt Purple, EA, Take-Two, Riot Video games, Meta and extra have laid off a whole lot of staff. The layoffs have turn into an nearly weekly incidence throughout the business, resulting in builders pushing tougher for unionization to offer staff with extra rights and safety.
