Epic Layoffs [Sep 28, 2023, 10:59 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Some belt-tightening is underway at Epic Games, where as many as 900 staff are
being laid off. Amid news of Fortnite
V-Bucks price increases and a new version of the
Fortnite Refer a Friend program came
an X from
Jason Schreier where the tapped-in Bloomberg reporter revealed layoffs,
and a lot of them, saying: "Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite and Unreal Engine,
is laying off a whopping 16% of employees (or around 900 people), sources tell
Bloomberg News. More to come." That more is already here, as there's a
statement confirming the news on the Epic Games Website. This also includes
news of divestitures, as Bandcamp is being
set free. Tim Sweeney says: "We're cutting costs without breaking development or
our core lines of businesses so we can continue to focus on our ambitious plans.
About two-thirds of the layoffs were in teams outside of core development. Some
of our products and initiatives will land on schedule, and some may not ship
when planned because they are under-resourced for the time being. We’re ok with
the schedule tradeoff if it means holding on to our ability to achieve our
goals, get to the other side of profitability and become a leading metaverse
company." Here's more:
While Fortnite is starting to grow again, the growth is driven primarily by creator content with significant revenue sharing, and this is a lower margin business than we had when Fortnite Battle Royale took off and began funding our expansion. Success with the creator ecosystem is a great achievement, but it means a major structural change to our economics.
Epic folks around the world have been making ongoing efforts to reduce costs, including moving to net zero hiring and cutting operating spend on things like marketing and events. But we still ended up far short of financial sustainability. We concluded that layoffs are the only way, and that doing them now and on this scale will stabilize our finances.
jdreyer wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 22:01:I value the freedom to choose my gaming platform more than the price. EGS's exclusivity limits this choice, making me either buy from them or wait months or years. I don't want to be forced to adhere to Tim Sweeney's preferences for purchasing third-party games, especially on a platform like EGS that had no role in their production.Kxmode wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 19:05:And I want Steam to stop their MFN...
I don't want anyone to lose their job. Just want Epic to stop their anti-consumer third-party exclusives.
Waiting is only acceptable to me when a game is a first-party exclusive, like Horizon Forbidden West by Sony Interactive Entertainment, exclusive to their console. I respect their right to decide if they want to bring their game to other platforms like Steam and EGS.
This comment was edited on Sep 29, 2023, 19:50.
"...and now with sports. The Cointen Spinky Whompers flumped the Floing Boing Welfencloppers, 70-fluff to 40-flabe. At the tone, the time will be 26 railroad."
Tom wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 10:25:OK boomer. Is your next advice to go door to door handing out resumes? "Ask to talk to the boss. Give him* a good firm handshake, and he'll* hire you on the spot."
The employee/employer relationship is not an equal one but it goes both ways. As an employee you're not obligated to remain loyal to the company or care about it, be its friend, etc. One could argue that employees have the ultimate power. Employees can quit anytime, go work for a competitor or start a competing company, and utterly destroy their previous employer if they have the desire and a favorable mix of effort, skill, and luck.
"That's business."
* because obviously (/s)
Tom wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 10:25:
The employee/employer relationship is not an equal one but it goes both ways. As an employee you're not obligated to remain loyal to the company or care about it, be its friend, etc. One could argue that employees have the ultimate power. Employees can quit anytime, go work for a competitor or start a competing company, and utterly destroy their previous employer if they have the desire and a favorable mix of effort, skill, and luck.
"That's business."
I mean, that's a fair comment but it lacks context. You can have an employers market or a workers market. During COVID, workers were highly sought after, had greater mobility and had more leverage. Now we have a high rate environment and it's completely flipped. You leave a job right now with a larger degree of risk, assuming you even have other opportunities to go after. Starting a business shouldn't even really be part of the discussion as it's incredibly risky and most of them fail.
Playing: Baldur's Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Sea of Stars
Watching: Dark Winds, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Our Flag Means Death
Watching: Dark Winds, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Our Flag Means Death
I said it's relatively easy, compared to starting your own successful business.
Whether it's easy in an absolute sense obviously depends on various circumstances.
Whether it's easy in an absolute sense obviously depends on various circumstances.
Tom wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 10:47:This is true for a small portion of the population. However, for the vast majority it is not in any way accurate. Since you find things so easy, I assume you are independently wealthy already?
But it is relatively easy to quit and find work elsewhere if you so desire.
“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.” -- Carl Sagan
I just hope that all of them get good jobs soon. Actually, they should have the expertise that is very welcome by many companies in gaming, networking, et al. I wish you luck, guys!
"There is no right life in the wrong one." (Theodor W. Adorno, philosopher)
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi)
"Only a Sith deals in absolutes." (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi)
#2358
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
It's not easy to start your own business, make it a success, topple other businesses, etc.
But it is relatively easy to quit and find work elsewhere if you so desire. Most people I know have done it many times.
But it is relatively easy to quit and find work elsewhere if you so desire. Most people I know have done it many times.
Tom wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 10:25:
The employee/employer relationship is not an equal one but it goes both ways. As an employee you're not obligated to remain loyal to the company or care about it, be its friend, etc. One could argue that employees have the ultimate power. Employees can quit anytime, go work for a competitor or start a competing company, and utterly destroy their previous employer if they have the desire and a favorable mix of effort, skill, and luck.
"That's business."
Yes, because it is just that easy. Find another job, start your own business. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. \s
The level of delusion from some people...
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mahatma Gandhi
The employee/employer relationship is not an equal one but it goes both ways. As an employee you're not obligated to remain loyal to the company or care about it, be its friend, etc. One could argue that employees have the ultimate power. Employees can quit anytime, go work for a competitor or start a competing company, and utterly destroy their previous employer if they have the desire and a favorable mix of effort, skill, and luck.
"That's business."
"That's business."
Kosumo wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 07:06:When I worked for Motorola and we were swamped with bookings they made us work over the Holidays, telling us how they were family oriented.
It's a company.
Why does it seem like some people here seem to think that every person they ever employed has the right to a job for life there?
Things change. Things in the tech industries change ever quicker.
Alot of tech companies over expanded during good time and now reevaluating their workforce. It happens.
As someone posted, the employees are getting proper redundancy packages.
I've worked for 30 years as a freelancer - I get nothing if there is no work. I do a good job and there is always someone happy to pay for my services.
Understand that companies change.
A couple years later when it was slow during the Holidays, we were given two weeks off. You guessed it, because they were family oriented.
Kosumo said: “It’s a company.”All you are is a resource, like electricity and printer paper.
They’re not your friend and they don’t care about you.
"I expect death to be nothingness and by removing from me all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism." Isaac Asimov
This. The new person has to make some radical change to justify their hiring. Every damn time.
ZeroPike1 wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 04:56:
More money for those epic game store exclusives right?
900 people is a lot….
It's a lot, but large companies cut in massive numbers. I used to work for Sanofi Aventis pharmaceutical in their IT. They had about 3k employees at my location in Jersey. They'd do 500 employee cuts almost yearly. Though they'd go nuts hiring again the following year. It's mostly a cycle and whose in charge.
You might have someone saying, let's bring in outside contractors for cheap. They go with that for awhile. Then a new guy takes that guys position and says, those outside contractors are bringing in less quality employees, let's hire internal and get rid of the contractors. You need to pay more for internal, but we'll make sure they've got more experience/degrees. Then the next guy takes over and says, yeah, let's cut internal to save money, let's hire outside contractors for less. Rinse and repeat.
Meanwhile, the guys making those decisions look like superstars in their positions until they move up to the next, lol.
Kosumo wrote on Sep 29, 2023, 07:06:
It's a company.
Why does it seem like some people here seem to think that every person they ever employed has the right to a job for life there?
Things change. Things in the tech industries change ever quicker.
Alot of tech companies over expanded during good time and now reevaluating their workforce. It happens.
As someone posted, the employees are getting proper redundancy packages.
I've worked for 30 years as a freelancer - I get nothing if there is no work. I do a good job and there is always someone happy to pay for my services.
Understand that companies change.
Nah, you don't get to hide behind "it's a company. " That works when we're talking being in the red, losing money, and fighting to survive. Not when you're doing it because your obscene profit this year is slightly less than your obscene profit last year, thus your worried about losing investors. Did you say the same thing when Activision laid off 800 people in the same year that they made huge profit and could afford to give Kotick a $200 million bonus? There's a difference between doing anything you have to in order to survive and just being despicable.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mahatma Gandhi
jdreyer wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 22:01:Good news, they never started doing either of those!Kxmode wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 19:05:And I want Steam to stop their MFN and price gouging monopolistic practices.
I don't want anyone to lose their job. Just want Epic to stop their anti-consumer third-party exclusives.
It's a company.
Why does it seem like some people here seem to think that every person they ever employed has the right to a job for life there?
Things change. Things in the tech industries change ever quicker.
Alot of tech companies over expanded during good time and now reevaluating their workforce. It happens.
As someone posted, the employees are getting proper redundancy packages.
I've worked for 30 years as a freelancer - I get nothing if there is no work. I do a good job and there is always someone happy to pay for my services.
Understand that companies change.
Why does it seem like some people here seem to think that every person they ever employed has the right to a job for life there?
Things change. Things in the tech industries change ever quicker.
Alot of tech companies over expanded during good time and now reevaluating their workforce. It happens.
As someone posted, the employees are getting proper redundancy packages.
I've worked for 30 years as a freelancer - I get nothing if there is no work. I do a good job and there is always someone happy to pay for my services.
Understand that companies change.
More money for those epic game store exclusives right?
900 people is a lot….
900 people is a lot….
Rimmer: “Step up to Red Alert.”
Kryten: “Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb.”
Kryten: “Sir, are you absolutely sure? It does mean changing the bulb.”
Hellcinder wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 20:41:
Lots of hate for EPIC here, but say what you will, I've been laid off with no severence before. This is what EPIC are handing out to their laid off employees:
Staff being let go will be given six months of severance pay and health insurance, and accelerated stock vesting, meaning they'll take ownership of shares in the company they've earned through their employment more quickly than normal.
I have been laid off without severance too. That this is slightly less than worst-case scenario doesn't change that it is a greedy, self-serving, disgusting thing to do. In one month Epic made more money than all of these people combined will probably make in their lifetime, but 6 months of a touch above nothing is supposed to make it better that they did this?
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
- Mahatma Gandhi
Kxmode wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 19:05:And I want Steam to stop their MFN and price gouging monopolistic practices.
I don't want anyone to lose their job. Just want Epic to stop their anti-consumer third-party exclusives.
I guess we'll just have to get all of our games from GoG. Pinky promise?
If Russia stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends. Slava Ukraini!
Hellcinder wrote on Sep 28, 2023, 20:41:**Great news**
Lots of hate for EPIC here, but say what you will, I've been laid off with no severence before. This is what EPIC are handing out to their laid off employees:
Staff being let go will be given six months of severance pay and health insurance, and accelerated stock vesting, meaning they'll take ownership of shares in the company they've earned through their employment more quickly than normal.
I liked EGS as the underdog and always welcomed competition to Steam (love it) and trying to give more to devs.
(Won't mention
But after this I also respect EGS.
For a USA company to do this, it's a notable feat.
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