Another round of mass layoffs at Unity — 600 people to lose their jobs

Unity has initiated a new wave of layoffs, according to the latest report. This will be the company’s largest round of job cuts in the past 12 months.

UPD: Unity confirmed the job cuts in an SEC filing. The company explained the layoffs by its decision to restructure specific teams in order to ensure “long-term and profitable growth.”

• The third round of layoffs at Unity will affect roughly 600 employees, or about 8% of its total headcount, according to The Wall Street Journal.
• People familiar with the matter also noted that the company plans to close dozens of offices over the next few years, reducing their number from 58 to fewer than 30.
• This marks the third round of job cuts at Unity. It laid off 284 employees in January and at least 200 people last June.
• The company has been reducing its workforce not only amid a worsening economic climate, but also to deal with duplication of roles resulting from its $4.4 billion merger with ironSource.
• Last October, Unity CEO John Riccitiello commented on the layoffs, comparing the process to skiing. “If you don’t fall now and then, you’re probably not getting better because you’re not trying new things to improve,” he said. “We felt about 4% of what we were working on was not effectively getting us where we needed to go.”
• As pointed out by the WSJ, “shares of Unity have fallen 11% since the start of the year.”

The list of tech companies that have conducted mass layoffs in the past months includes Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and more.

The games industry has also been affected by job cuts. In March, Electronic Arts announced its decison to lay off nearly 800 employees, saying it is “operating from a position of strength.” Other game companies on the list are Riot Games, Take-Two, Ten Square Games, Huuuge Games, Tencent, NCSoft, and Tilting Point.