After thousands of employees in the gaming industry were hit with mass layoffs over the past year and a half, some corporations conducting the job cuts have received sharp criticism on social media for laying off employees despite having increasing sales and profits.
During a recent interview on the “My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin” podcast, former Sony (SNEJF) Computer Entertainment Europe President Chris Deering shared some blunt words for those criticizing the widespread layoffs in the gaming industry.
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“I don’t think it’s fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greed,” said Deering. “I always tried to minimize the speed with which we added staff because I always knew there would be a cycle, and I didn’t want to end up having the same problems that Sony did in Electronics.”
He claimed that the recent layoffs at Sony Interactive Entertainment in London, which resulted in roughly 900 employees in its gaming sector losing their jobs in February, were due to low sales. When Sony announced the layoffs in a press release in February, it said that the change was the result of a “rapidly changing industry.”
“If the money isn’t coming in from the consumers on the last game, it’s going to be hard to justify spending the money for the next game,” said Deering.
A shopper with a Sony Playstation 5 at a Best Buy store on Black Friday in San Francisco, California, US, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.
However, Sony’s earnings report for the first three months of 2024 revealed that its Game and Network Services sector had a roughly 17% year-over-year increase in sales, and about 16% spike in operating income.
Deering also stated in the interview that having a skill in game development does not mean a lifetime of “poverty or limitation,” and that those who were recently laid off should “figure out how to get through it.”
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“Drive an Uber or whatever, go off to find a cheap place to live and go to the beach for a year,” said Deering.
He also said that he is “optimistic” about the future of those in the industry who have been axed from their jobs, and that their severance packages should help cushion the blow.
“I presume people were paid some kind of decent severance package, and by the time that runs out … Well, you know, that’s life,” said Deering.
The Sony exec’s comments receive backlash
In response to Deering’s recent comments, users on social media platform X blasted the former Sony executive for being “tone deaf.”
What’s that? Oh, just the sound of another bigwig being tone deaf. Go to the beach for a year? Yes, because people don’t have those things called bills to pay.
— Paula B (@Dunedinediting) September 10, 2024
“It’s not the result of corporate greed”, coming from a corpo…
He should try living on an Uber drivers income and see how he goes
— Frost (@Frost0791) September 10, 2024
Explain to me why corporate execs never get laid off or even asked to take a pay cut (like Nintendo did under Iwata). How is it that the execs that hire in these irresponsible ways never see any consequence? Why are they never asked to downsize and go to the beach?
— Miles Weaver (@mrmilesweaver) September 10, 2024
Deering’s comments come after about 11,250 employees in the gaming industry worldwide lost their jobs via layoffs in 2023, according to data from Statista. The layoffs are continuing to accelerate as 11,000 gaming employees were laid off during the first six months of this year.
More Labor:
Sony’s Bungie criticized for layoffs after CEO spends millions Dell makes a harsh move, solidifying fears about the future of workEx-Google CEO responds to outrage over remote work comments
The layoffs come during a time when gaming in the U.S. has been dubbed as one of the “fastest-growing large sectors” in the entertainment and media industry by professional services firm Pwc. The company predicts that gaming revenue in the U.S. will top $300 billion in 2028, which is more than double than what it generated in 2019.
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