Zynga’s 2-year-old Seattle engineering office was largely spared in the game maker’s most recent layoff announcement, especially when compared to other branch offices that were reportedly shut down. But the layoffs of 18 percent of Zynga’s workforce are still having an impact in Seattle, though fairly minimal. According to a filing with the State of Washington’s Employment Security Department, Zynga has laid off two staffers in Seattle.
At the time of the layoff announcement by Zynga boss Mark Pincus last week, the company declined to say what sort of impact was occurring in Seattle, though we did hear that the office in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood was remaining open. A layoff of any size stinks, but it does appear that Seattle is taking only a small hit in comparison to other areas of the company.
All Things D reported that offices in New York, LA and Dallas were being shut down as part of the reorganization at Zynga, which is attempting to reposition on mobile efforts.
Given Seattle’s strong mobile gaming roots, that could serve the region well, though it’s unclear exactly why the Seattle operation appears to have escaped yet another round of cuts largely unscathed. Seattle avoided the company’s last round of layoffs, which occurred in February.
About 520 people are losing their jobs in this round of cuts, which are expected to be completed by this August and save the company $70 million to $80 million on an annual basis.
Earlier this year, Zynga said that it expected a net loss of $26 million to $36 million during the second quarter. The company’s revenue fell by 18 percent year-over-year during the first quarter, coming in at $264 million.
Shares of Zynga are down 15 percent in the past five days, and off 52 percent in the past year.
