In various new reports, Activision-Blizzard laid off a ton of employees recently. Nearly 190 employees were laid off across their divisions. This includes 50 employees from the company’s eSports division. The company is moving away from traditional live eSports events as the pandemic continues to impede in-person activities. In addition, Activision-Blizzard states they want to be “less dependent” on live events. According to Bloomberg, employees from King.com (Candy Crush) were laid off as well. Here’s what a company spokesperson had to say:
“Players are increasingly choosing to connect with our games digitally and the e-sports team, much like traditional sports, entertainment and broadcasting industries, has had to adapt its business due to the impact the pandemic has had on live events.”
Employees that were laid off get a minimum 90 day severance package, up to a year in health benefits and job transition support. Additionally, the former employees each gain $200 in battle.net gift cards. This is a rather strange way to go about business as the company also claimed to have a goal of hiring 3,000 employees in 2021 alone. We hope employees that were laid off get a fulfilling job elsewhere.
*Update* Following the news of lay offs, Activision investors are calling out CEO Bobby Kotick as they call his salary into question. This is another piece in the long running saga of lay offs that did not need to happen at Activision. Kotick is one of the most overpaid CEOs in the industry to the point where investors are calling out areas that need improvement at the company. That includes the CEO position and pay.
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