Electronic Arts to shut down 12 offices News
DateTime:7/8/2009 5:21:12 PM

Electronic Arts has announced plans to shut down 12 facilities and make 11 per cent of its workforce redundant - amounting to 1100 members of staff.CEO John Riccitiello described the results as "a clear disappointment", admitting that EA didn't make as much money at Christmas as had been expected. However, he continued, it wasn't for want of trying. 

The redundancies will affect everyone from low-level staff and managers to directors and VPs, according to EA, in locations around the globe. The company is also planning to take advantage of more low-cost locations, and has reduced the number of games in its portfolio to 50 for the 2010 financial year.The news comes after the publisher released a financial report for the third quarter, showing a USD 641 million loss. That's a big old increase over the loss for the same quarter last year, which stood at USD 33 million. 

"We delivered on game quality and innovation in calendar 2008, with 13 titles rated 80 or above - more than any third-party publisher," said the EA boss. "We expect to build on this great quality record in the year ahead while delivering more profitability."