Electronic Arts slashed jobs at its Los Angeles and Montreal offices earlier this year, and next up on the chopping block appears to be Vancouver’s PopCap hub.
EA, which owns Seattle-based PopCap, confirmed on Thursday that it was cutting its workforce, with several outlets reporting as much as 10 percent of employees laid off.
The company wouldn’t specify which employees and what offices were affected, but people from Vancouver’s PopCap offices tweeted that they’d lost their jobs and the office was closed.
https://twitter.com/ChrisAPower/status/327476059220082691
The Vancouver Sun reported that around 30 people were cut from the Vancouver office, with some moving to other PopCap or EA studios.
We reached out to PopCap and they declined to comment on “any of the changes made by PopCap today.” EA told us that the company wasn’t disclosing headcount or specific teams impacted.
EA is in the midst of a big restructuring phase. Thursday’s news comes just weeks before EA releases its lower-than-expected earnings report and one month after former CEO John Riccitiello announced that he was stepping down from the game maker. Days after that, six-year Bejeweled executive producer Giordano “Gio” Contestabile left PopCap.
EA paid up to $1.3 billion for PopCap in July 2011. PopCap has developed several successful titles, including Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz and the recently-announced Plants vs. Zombies Adventures.
Previously on GeekWire: EA pulls plus on some Facebook games, doubles down on PopCap
