Wait. If Sony wanted to hide information wouldn't a presentation be far more compelling to do so than a probably planned drip feed of information that mimics what they did nearly 6 months ago?
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Layoffs hit Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe
- Thread starter Deleted member 31092
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It's the exact same thing they did earlier in the year. This was unfortunate timing.
And it's good that it came out and wasn't swept away under that news.
I expect more sad news of layoffs in the coming weeks as restructuring continues and finalizes. It's gonna suck.
The financial standing isn't the only reason companies fire people. Some of the richest/biggest in the world even operate on having a target % of workforce that is aimed to be laid off every year. Granted that usually doesn't get nearly as much press as 'mass layoffs' even though the total number of people that cycle per year is likely much higher.
These probably shouldn't be on the list. Team Soho wasn't closed it was just renamed to SIE London Studio and Incognito wasn't closed by Sony instead most of the employees left Sony to start Eat Sleep Play and Lightbox Interactive.
The conspiracy theories in here are embarrassing. This is almost evil genius levels of conniving. Sony specifically told Wired magazine to release a story specifically yesterday to cover up layoffs and restructuring today? Listen to how silly that sounds.
Wife got laid off and rehired with half pay. Sucks man...
hope everyone lands on their feet and Sony as a whole comes together strong for next gen.
hope everyone lands on their feet and Sony as a whole comes together strong for next gen.
Agreed, thanks for clarifying!
As part of this move? Sorry to hear that.
There's a thread for this already, not sure I see the point in a thread about Sony?
I don't think people are saying it happened that way round, they're instead suggesting that more Sony thought the PS5 newsdrop in the Wired article was a good day to bury bad news.
The timing is a little odd - the announcement of layoffs could have come at any time this week. Not saying it's some kind of conspiracy but Sony should have had knowledge of both timelines so either it was intentional, or the left hand wasn't talking to the right one (as some of the previous articles about them have alluded)
Yes.
In case it wasn't perfectly clear: being laid off is awful, I've been there. Good luck to everyone affected.
Sony seems to be one of the better companies to work for in the games industry but that doesn't mean layoffs never happen. It appears next-gen transition will have Sony downsize different divisions and double down on other things. For a company of this size, next-gen seems to be a huge undertaking regardless. I hope those people land on their feet soon. Layoffs are always a shitty thing
I don't understand why you would give full control to PlayStation America when PlayStation Europe has always been more successful in comparison. It should be the other way around if anything.
This thread is so weird. Of course we all sympathize with people being laid off but I get the impression that people don't understand that this unfortunately happens. And worse yet are the people calling this a conspiracy. Such dumb shit.
Anyway, hopefully the layoffs are kept to a minimum and they land on their feet.
Anyway, hopefully the layoffs are kept to a minimum and they land on their feet.
Ehh it depends. These would have been handled by very separate groups. US PR which handled the Wired article wouldn't have had any knowledge of EU HR plans. Of the people involved only Jim Ryan would have known about both. It could have been planned but not clear cut.
This isn't a case of the US taking over. The leadership is from the successful Euro branch. Instead this is Sony consolidating their international business to be more streamlined. Their HQ is in the US so that is why the decisions are coming from there. However it has been staffed with successful heads from the different divisions. This is going to lead to a more unified PR and Marketing department with all the good and bad that comes with that. It probably also explains the unified game approval issues we have been seeing when it comes to JPN games having to be reviewed in the main US office.
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More likely that the US should take the lead on overall strategy, put the former head of PS Europe in charge of it and then cut back on the people in EU. If needed migrate some talent over with Jim.
They want one voice for better or worse
Please god no. This is my immediate concern. Europe is classy, has taste. America is Xbox. Yeah that's a bit reductive but it's not far from the truth. I don't trust the brand being led from America.
Marketing timing is planned way in advance. Did you want them to delay this news? But... why? That would be even worse.
"Sony delays layoff news so PS5 article gets spotlight"
This. During the dark days of early PS3, it was PlayStation Europe who kept the lights on, since the PS3 was a distant third in the US after the Wii and XB360.
Lame to see so many people being laid off, especially to centralize opérations even more in the US. Their strength was in properly catering to each territory. I felt that they kind of took Europe for granted in the last couple of years and I hoped that Jim Ryan being higher up would have helped, but it doesn't seem like that's happening.
Mmh, allow me to be a little doubtful about the "SIEE didn't know about State of Play content" bit.
The last State of Play was even prerecorded in French the day it was aired, and most likely in other european languages too.
The EU PlayStation Blog had also usual blog posts following the State of Play, so that does not make much sense to me.
When VGC write "SIEE was not aware", who are we talking exactly ? I'm pretty sure not everyone in any company is supposed to be informed about things under NDA, so it kinda depends who you're asking.
The last State of Play was even prerecorded in French the day it was aired, and most likely in other european languages too.
The EU PlayStation Blog had also usual blog posts following the State of Play, so that does not make much sense to me.
When VGC write "SIEE was not aware", who are we talking exactly ? I'm pretty sure not everyone in any company is supposed to be informed about things under NDA, so it kinda depends who you're asking.
This is my understanding. While unfortunate, it's just one of those weird coincidences that all of this happened at the same time.
He moves to another company for sure. Do not try to match the uncertainty of the people who were fired. It's stupid.
Very shitty of them.
Really not a fan of Sony going full head command in US. One of their biggest strengths was the the regions were self run, it's probably inefficient or something, but it worked extremely well, if they start lacking with their support in Europe (full translations to a lot of the markets who get poor support, constant great sales and services) after this I'll probably bounce to PC or something.
Really not a fan of Sony going full head command in US. One of their biggest strengths was the the regions were self run, it's probably inefficient or something, but it worked extremely well, if they start lacking with their support in Europe (full translations to a lot of the markets who get poor support, constant great sales and services) after this I'll probably bounce to PC or something.
If you don't think these studios deserved to be shutdown I have an investment opportunity for you. All those studios and not one single hit lol
Many probably aren't going to say anything because it seems like some of them are getting rehired in different roles at Sony. However it seems to be focused on the European PR and Marketing departments.
Doubtful this just seems like the next step in the companies restructuring to become more centralized in their planning and approval processes.
Maybe all this has to do with a probable no-deal Brexit.
Old Story:
Old Story:
Probably marketing teams mostly I'd assume, maybe Xdev, who do a lot of publishing work in Europe for 3rd parties. Not a head of a division like Layden, so probably won't get names, just divisions that were affected.
I mean as budgets get bigger it would make sense the powers that be would want to keeps on everything and streamline.
Still this worries me. I feel bad for the people laid off but also bad for the people that stick around. "Re-Interview" for your job? Fucking hell.
I just hope they are still able to have a unique voice when it's all said and done. I also wonder what this means for the Asia branch, since American suits are going around making heads roll.
Still this worries me. I feel bad for the people laid off but also bad for the people that stick around. "Re-Interview" for your job? Fucking hell.
I just hope they are still able to have a unique voice when it's all said and done. I also wonder what this means for the Asia branch, since American suits are going around making heads roll.
How is people being layed off from a company and someone deliberately moving to another company have anything in common?
This is sad to hear, siee we're responsible for supporting a lot of gems this generation, especially indies.
Hope those displaced find new work soon.
Hope those displaced find new work soon.
Lol sorry no, she works at Honda in US. Just empathizing with folks who got laid off. Really sucks when u feel strongly you didn't deserve it.
The most successful studios are all in America barring GG, POLYDIGITAL, Japan studio, mm. Insomniac, naughty dog, sucker punch, santa Monica, San Diego studio(mlb) are all in America.
Re-interviewing basically means they laid everyone off but are letting them apply for the new positions they created when they downsized. The sucky part is that usually means former coworkers competing with each other and probably lower/different salaries and different responsibilities. It's usually pretty stressful and demoralizing. However it is better then just being laid off with no other job opportunities.