PlayStation is laying off around 900 people across the world [Discussion]

[John Elden Ring]

Difficult News About Our Workforce

The PlayStation community means everything to us, so I felt it was important to update you on a difficult day at our company. We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8% or about 900 people, subject to local...

t.co

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• Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment

The PlayStation community means everything to us, so I felt it was important to update you on a difficult day at our company. We have made the extremely hard decision to announce our plan to commence a reduction of our overall headcount globally by about 8% or about 900 people, subject to local law and consultation processes. Employees across the globe, including our studios, are impacted.

These are incredibly talented people who have been part of our success, and we are very grateful for their contributions. However, the industry has changed immensely, and we need to future ready ourselves to set the business up for what lies ahead. We need to deliver on expectations from developers and gamers and continue to propel future technology in gaming, so we took a step back to ensure we are set up to continue bringing the best gaming experiences to the community.

Below I’ve shared a copy of the email I sent out to the company this morning to provide more context on our thinking. We deeply appreciate support and understanding from the PlayStation community as these decisions are very difficult. Please rest assured that our plans for reorganizing and streamlining are so we can continue to deliver the best gaming experiences possible.

Jim Ryan's full email:​

Email


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

 

[Kx11]

Sony is falling

 

[BigMclargeHuge]

Sony is falling

As always, you come in with the shittiest takes.

 

[Danja]

Wow they killed London Studios and Firesprite hit with layoffs before they can release what they are truly working on.

I blame VR

 

[AllBizness]

Every Japanese mega corp that has high liabilities is vulnerable right now. The Yen is falling hard.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

and people want more acquisitions now.

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Sad. I guess that colorful game from London Studios is cancelled.

 

[Nhomnhom]

Tragic and pathetic, PlayStation is just some other publisher now, nothing special about the way they handle their dev business anymore. Nintendo is about to steam roll them at this rate.

and people want more acquisitions now.

PlayStation is in a stronger position than ever with the PS5 selling about on pair with PS4, with games selling more than ever, costing $70 and with them charging for PS+.

Fuck PS5 Pro, I'll pass on giving Sony any extra money they didn't earn, time to start treating them like MS. Waiting for the moment they announce single player games are releasing day one on PC to say goodbuy to their entire ecosystem.

 

[FatKaz]

They sent london studio to die by working on vr, and that fantasy IP I guess didn't work out.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

UK got gutted hard.
-London Studios closing down.
-One of Firesprite's projects probably cancelled leading to significant layoffs.

-XDEV is also in the UK, maybe that's why they said:

And that there will be reductions in various functions across SIE in the UK.

That or because they've reduced their total workforce by a significant margin over there, they're pulling out some administrative jobs because they're not needed.

Jim Ryan layoffs a bunch of countrymen on his way out, you hate to see it.

 

[Petekilla]

Sony is falling

Not the time to play console war, when people’s lives are being affected.

 

[Luffy123]

Sad. I guess that colorful game from London Studios is cancelled

fantasy game in Ldn could have been cool but could have also been a complete dud

was definitely one of the games along with Factions that was cancelled last summer-beginning of autumn

 

[Luffy123]

they basically cut most of their force in the UK rn which is crazy. Tbf we are in complete shit rn as well so

 

[JAHGamer]

Wow they killed London Studios and Firesprite hit with layoffs before they can release what they are truly working on.

I blame VR

Instead of blaming an incompetent CEO and the awful Bungie acquisition, you blame a growing market and innocent hardworking developers that just lost their jobs?

The anti VR FUD really makes people lose all common sense

 

[Petekilla]

they basically cut most of their force in the UK rn which is crazy. Tbf we are in complete shit rn as well so

Basically destroyed Jim Ryan’s plan to expand in the UK. He was trying to expand in the UK with their studios when he became CEO.

 

[Nhomnhom]

Seems like they are going to make the exact same mistake they did with the Vita again and start closing studios that worked on the PSVR games as if they were to blame for it failing (same thing that happened with the PSVita). No accountability whatsoever from the leadership.

Sony is too predictable and they deserve what is inevitably going to be coming for them.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Aged like milk

 

[Luffy123]

Aged like milk

Blame the the head honchos

Jim not calling any shots anymore

 

[Luffy123]

fuck the Bungie acquisition

its literally killing Sony having to keep their useless directors afloat when they aint doing shit

 

[AshHunter216]

Looks like Xbox fanboys finally have the story they were hoping for to use as a distraction from their issues.