Amazon just laid off more than 100 employees from its gaming divisions to broaden cutbacks for this year. This affected workers from divisions like Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon Game Studios in San Diego.
(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 05, 2019 this photo shows the Amazon logo at the 855,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. - Amazon is preparing to lay off as many as 10,000 employees, The New York Times reported on November 15, 2022, making the e-commerce behemoth the latest tech giant to unleash a large-scale redundancy plan.
Amazon Laying Off Workers from Gaming Divisions
In an internal memorandum for its employees, Amazon announced that it would cut off almost 100 employees in recent layoffs. Engadget reported that more than 100 employees from its gaming divisions were affected by these layoffs, including Prime Gaming, Game Growth, and Amazon Game Studios.
Amazon Games Vice President Christoph Hartmann wrote in the memo, "There is never a pleasant way to share this sort of news, but we are committed to treating our impacted employees with empathy and respect."
Affected employees were notified and pulled into a meeting with the human resources department on Tuesday afternoon. They were told to receive severance pay, health benefits, and paid time to find a new replacement job.
The company's resources will align for them to focus on their content. With this, the company is committed to continuing to invest in its internal development efforts, expecting its projects to grow and progress in the future.
The company gave no reasons regarding this matter. But as Hartmann stated in his memo, these cuts come after Amazon focused on its ongoing projects rather than paying attention to its long-term goals. When the company was asked to give more details about the layoffs, Amazon stated that it did not have more to share beyond the note.
Expanding to Other Teams
Hartmann revealed that others teams would be expanded amidst the layoffs. CNBC reported that the New World Team would grow as the company shifts some resources to expand development. Meanwhile, its Montreal Studio will continue expanding with its unannounced project.
Despite these layoffs, the San Diego Studio has been extending its efforts as employees work on an unannounced project and will double down on the game's pre-production phase.
Because of this, the company is also working on growing its third-party publishing efforts, including an agreement with NCSoft Corp. Amazon received a good response from launching the South Korean online role-playing game Lost Ark.
Also read: Biggest Amazon Layoff to Terminate 6% of Corporate Employees; Affected Staff Will Still Be Assisted
Bloomberg reported that Amazon has been struggling to capitalize on its resources when it comes to its gaming division. This includes its Crown Channel entertainment show, streamed through Twitch.
Aside from the employees, the company's gaming group has also seen a turnover in its executive tier. Former Game Studios Head Mike Frazzini stepped down from his position, and Hartmann took over his role last year. Amazon Gaming Executive John Smedley from the San Diego office also announced his plans to leave the company last January.
Related Article: Amazon to Lay Off 17,000+ Workers, Higher than Initially Planned
