The New York Times reported that Disney has laid off about one quarter of its Game and Internet Division workforce, which is about 26% of its global staff.
Disney Interactive President, James A. Pitaro, said,
“These are large-scale changes as we focus not just on getting to profitability but sustained profitability and scalability.”
The layoffs came as a result of Disney’s decision to combine the booming mobile games (those played on iPads and smartphones) and sagging social games (those played on websites like Facebook). In a major shift in strategy, Disney significantly scaled back in-house development of games of all types. It is intending to rely much more on outside licensing.
Pitaro added,
“We’re not exiting any businesses, and we will pursue licensing partnerships in which we retain a lot of creative input, But this is a doubling down on mobile and an effort to focus much more intently on a core set of priorities.”
When asked about Disney Interactive’s thriving mobile business in Japan, Pitaro said,
“At the same time we are reducing our focus in some areas, we are making strategic investments in others, and the Japan business is one.”
In addition, Disney will keep focusing on its successful games such as Disney Infinity and Fantasia: Music Evolved.
What are your thoughts about the huge layoffs?
Source: New York Times
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