PlayStation Executive Defends Layoffs, Says They Were Necessary To Run A Business
It’s been tough times of late at Sony Interactive Entertainment, as the PlayStation company began the year by cutting 900+ jobs and cancelling games. In July, Sony axed a number of positions from its Destiny studio, Bungie, and announced a reorganization effort there. Then in August, Sony’s Firewalk team launched a multiplayer FPS called Concord, only to close it quickly and offer refunds, before the studio itself shut down for good after reportedly spending $200 million+ on it. In an interview with Variety, SIE co-CEO Hermen Hulst reacted to these dramatic moves, saying they all took place as part of the company’s effort to run a “sustainable business.”
“I will say a few things on that. It’s our duty to look at our our resource planning, and make sure that we run a sustainable business,” he said. “That’s part of being CEO. We never take that lightly, because we know these people personally, and it’s very close to our hearts and the teams and good working atmospheres. But yes, we’ve had some layoffs.”
Hulst went on to say that the PlayStation Studios division is actually “much greater” today in terms of employment numbers than it was five years ago. “It’s grown tremendously. And that is organic growth that our existing teams, I think, hired quite aggressively, as well as through [mergers and acquisitions],” he said.