Murderer’s Creed Mirage writer Ubisoft is shedding 98 individuals from its Canadian offices, the corporate confirmed to Polygon on Tuesday. Ubisoft’s administrative, IT, and VFX studio Hybride — which labored on Disney reveals like Ahsoka and The Mandalorian and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker — are impacted by the layoff, according to Kotaku, which first reported the layoff. Two % of Ubisoft’s Canadian workforce was impacted.
The layoffs are supposed to “optimize its resources to be more sustainable in the long term,” Ubisoft mentioned in a authorities submitting obtained by Kotaku.
“These are not decisions taken lightly and we are providing comprehensive support for our colleagues who will be leaving Ubisoft during this transition,” a Ubisoft consultant mentioned in a press release to Polygon. “We also want to share our utmost gratitude and respect for their many contributions to the company. This restructuring does not affect our production teams.” We’ve printed the complete response under.
Ubisoft has minimize roughly 1,300 roles since September 2022, according to an October earnings report, with “continued tight control of recruitments as well as targeted restructurings” — i.e. layoffs. Worldwide, Ubisoft reported 19,410 workers in October, making it one of many largest recreation corporations worldwide. The Ubisoft Montreal workplace homes greater than 4,000 of these workers, a few of whom believed the corporate’s current return to workplace mandate was basically a “soft layoff.” Ubisoft is seeking to cut its budget by $215 million because it continues alongside within the growth hell of long-delayed Cranium and Bones.
2023 has been a devastating yr for the online game business, which has been overwhelmed with hundreds of minimize jobs since January. Simply final week, Future 2 developer Bungie laid off 100 builders; the layoff was pinned to a declining Future 2 participant base.
Right here’s Ubisoft’s full assertion:
Over the previous few months, each staff inside Ubisoft has been exploring methods to streamline our operations and improve our collective effectivity in order that we’re higher positioned for fulfillment in the long run. On this context, at this time we introduced that we’re reorganizing our Canadian studios’ normal and administrative features and lowering headcount in Hybride (our VFX studio primarily based in Montreal) and in our international IT staff, which impacts 124 positions total. These aren’t choices taken evenly and we’re offering complete assist for our colleagues who will probably be leaving Ubisoft throughout this transition. We additionally wish to share our utmost gratitude and respect for his or her many contributions to the corporate. This restructuring doesn’t have an effect on our manufacturing groups.
As a part of this transformation, 98 individuals, representing lower than 2% of our Canadian workforce, from our enterprise administrative companies and IT staff in Canada will probably be leaving Ubisoft. All affected Canadian workers will probably be supported by means of this modification, together with severance packages, prolonged advantages the place relevant, and profession help to assist them navigate their transition.
