Unity to lay off 1,800 employees across all teams as part of its plans to "refocus on its core business"

Less than two weeks into 2024, mass layoffs continue to impact the industry. This time, Unity has decided to cut around 25% of its total workforce as part of its ongoing restructuring.

• As Reuters reported on January 8, Unity announced the layoffs in a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• The company plans to reduce 1,800 employees by the end of March “as it restructures and refocuses on its core business, and to position itself for long-term and profitable growth.”
• This would be the largest round of job cuts in the history of Unity, affecting all teams, regions, and areas of business.
• Last year, it laid off a total of 1,100 employees, including 265 in November and 600 in May.
• According to Reuters, Unity shares rose by 5% in after-hours trading following the publication of the new SEC filing.

In November 2023, Unity started a “comprehensive assessment” of its product portfolio to reduce the number of things it is doing outside its game engine business. “This will likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint,” the company said at the time.

Overall, 2023 was a turbulent year for Unity. In September, the company rolled out the Runtime Fee pricing policy, planning to charge developers per install. It sparked a huge controversy within the gamedev community, forcing the engine maker to partly revamp the new model.

Following the backlash, John Riccitiello stepped down as CEO of Unity and was replaced by former IBM president Jim Whitehurst.

Unity was one of dozens of game companies, including Embracer Group, Epic Games, tinyBuild, and CD Projekt, that issued job cuts last year. It is estimated that a total of 10,500 people across the industry were laid off in 2023, a trend that unfortunately looks set to continue this year.