EA dismisses layoff gossip

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"There are no layoffs as such,” states publisher

Electronic Arts is denying rumors that the publisher is planning to shed upwards of 11% of its staff following the mediocre performance of its latest releases.

"There are no lay-offs as such, we always have projects growing and morphing,” said EA in a statement to MCV. “At any given time there are new people coming in and others leaving. EA is growing and hiring and building teams to support the growing demand for digital games and services."

The rumor was first spread by sources at the website Startup Grind, who claimed EA was sending 500 – 1,000 of its staff to the unemployment line “very soon”. The impending cuts were thought to be caused by declining subscriptions to EA's newly released Star Wars: The Old Republic, and less-than-anticipated returns on Battlefield 3. Dipping stock prices and a desire on upper management's part to trim costs were also suggested as possible motivators.

EA made the news last week when celebrities defended the company's decision to include lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgendered (LGBT) themes in some of its more recent games, Mass Effect 3 and Old Republic included. Catch up on positive EA news (for a change) in our report: Celebrities support EA in wake of anti-LGBT campaign.

Matt Bradford

Matt Bradford wrote news and features here at GamesRadar+ until 2016. Since then he's gone on to work with the Guinness World Records, acting as writer and researcher for the annual Gamer's Edition series of books, and has worked as an editor, technical writer, and voice actor. Matt is now a freelance journalist and editor, generating copy across a multitude of industries.