In Short
- Unity will be firing around 265 employees, as part of a restructuring strategy.
- The company is also ending its partnership with Weta Digital.
- It is closing offices in Berlin and Singapore to streamline operations.
Unity, a San Francisco-based video game software company, is planning to give pink slips to 265 employees representing 3.8 per cent of its global workforce in an effort to restructure its operations. Additionally, the company is planning to terminate its existing partnership with Weta Digital, a visual effects company founded by Peter Jackson, director of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
These recent actions are part of the company's broader "reset" strategy aimed at streamlining Unity's operations and enhancing its focus on core business areas, reports Reuters. In addition to job cuts, the company is taking further steps to streamline its operations by closing offices in Berlin and Singapore. The company will also significantly reduce its office footprint in other locations, including San Francisco and Bellevue, Washington.
Reportedly, the announcement of layoffs follows the termination of unity's deals with Weta FX, the visual effects company founded by director Peter Jackson, in 2021.The company acquired Weta Digital's technology and engineering division in 2021, but the professional services agreement remained in place. Under the agreement, Unity provided Weta Digital with technical support and other services. However, Unity has decided to terminate the agreement, which will result in the layoffs of 265 employees, representing about 3.8 per cent of Unity's global workforce of approximately 7,000 employees.
In addition to laying off 265 employees, Unity is also taking other steps to reduce costs and improve its financial performance. The company is ending its mandatory three-day-per-week office work policy and reducing "full in-office services" to three days a week in most locations.
The company is also planning on 'refocus' its business said James M. Whitehurst
Interim president and CEO of Unity Technologies. "While no additions have been finalised, it's clear that we will reduce the number of things we are doing overall,"Whitehurst told Reuters.
Notably, Unity Software's restructuring and layoffs are ongoing amid a turbulent period for the San Francisco-based company. While Unity's software toolkit continues to be widely used by video game developers, including the creators of the popular mobile game "Pokémon Go," the company continues to face challenges, necessitating ongoing significant changes.
Unity's recent changes to its pricing structure are inline to turbulence the Unity has been facing in the past few months. In September, the company proposed a new "runtime fee" policy that would have charged developers additional fees based on their game's revenue and installation numbers. However, following backlash from developers and a significant drop in Unity's stock price, the company decided to scrap the proposed fee structure altogether.
Later, in the following month of October, Unity witnessed the retirement of CEO John Riccitiello. In response to this, the company chose Jim Whitehurst, the former president of IBM, to step in as the interim CEO and president. Additionally, Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital, assumed the role of the new board chairman.