Bungie layoffs reportedly affected 8% of its workforce
Following the announcement of major layoffs at the studio, it has been reported that approximately 100 employees have been affected, with Bungie previously warning employees of the company's current financial underperformance.
The details:
It was reported on Monday that the developer was laying off an unspecified number of employees in its community, development, art, and audio teams, including long-time Halo and Destiny soundtrack composer Michael Salvatori. The company is also said to have delayed the next Destiny 2 expansion as well as its upcoming FPS, Marathon.
According to a new report from Bloomberg, employees were warned in a meeting earlier this month that revenue was 45% lower than projected, which CEO Pete Parsons claimed was due to a "sharp drop" in Destiny 2's popularity and poor player retention. During the same meeting, Parsons informed staff that the game's upcoming The Final Shape expansion had received only "good" feedback, prompting it to be delayed to allow for additional development time.
Parson was also said to have laid out potential cost-cutting measures at the studio, such as hiring and salary freezes, but just weeks later, employees began their Monday mornings with a meeting where they learned of the cuts. It has been reported that approximately 8% of its workforce has been impacted, with job losses primarily in support areas such as community management and publishing.
According to Forbes’ Paul Tassi, employee benefits only lasted until the end of the month, meaning those laid off on October 30 received just a single day of benefits, although employees are still entitled to three months of healthcare and severance pay.
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