Xbox 360 | EA cutting 1,500 jobs, closing 'several facilities'

[UPDATE] Publisher confirms widespread layoffs in effort to save $100 million annually and focus on higher-margin titles; internal sources confirm reductions at Skate, Madden, and Dante's Inferno devs.

[UPDATE] In a press release, EA has now officially confirmed it is laying off 1,500 employees as part of a general restructuring which will see the publisher "provide greater focus on titles with higher [profit] margin opportunities."

The reorganization, which is set to be complete by March 31, will result in the "closure of several facilities," although no specific studios were named. After taking restructuring charges of between $130 million and $150 million, the company expects to save $100 million per year as a result.

The layoffs come just nine months after EA cut its payroll by 11 percent, or 1,100 employees. Then, the company said it was also planning to "narrow its product portfolio," close a number of facilities, and eliminate certain other costs. As a result, EA Black Box's offices were closed and the shrunken studio was relocated to EA Canada outside Vancouver.

[ORIGINAL STORY] This morning, Electronic Arts confirmed that it had bought social-game specialist Playfish for $275 million in cash and up to $125 million more in incentives. At the same time, the company has apparently begun reducing its internal costs by trimming its payroll.

Electronic Arts is trimming its payroll.

Several sources close to EA have confirmed to GameSpot that the company began extensive layoffs this morning, with one saying the number was in the "hundreds." The layoffs are apparently "company-wide" and are affecting the publisher's internal studio structure, including such shops as EA Tiburon (Madden NFL) and the already downsized Mythic Entertainment (Warhammer Online) and EA Black Box (the forthcoming Skate 3).

The company's Redwood Shores, California headquarters is also being affected, including Dead Space and Dante's Inferno developer Visceral Games. The studio has had a rocky year, with its general manager and COO defecting to Activision's new San Francisco Bay Area studio in July. September figures from industry research firm the NPD Group also found its Wii-exclusive shooter Dead Space Extraction had a poor debut.

As of press time, Electronic Arts had not responded to requests for comment. However, further comment is likely when the company releases its July-September earnings report this afternoon at 1:30 p.m. PDT. The former top third-party publisher has been struggling of late, reporting a $1 billion annual loss in May and a $234 million quarterly loss in August.

EAS Song

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/dantesinferno/news.html?sid=6239401