When you hear an industry is making billons, it can be a bit of shock when you hear a major company will reduce its work force. However, that’s exactly what’s happening at Atari. Atari employees received some unfortunate news this week when the company announced that they would lay off 20% of their overall workforce, across a wide-range of positions. Administrative positions will be hit the hardest.
Following a lengthy financial restructuring program that included the sale of numerous internal studios and brands over the last eighteen months, and the resignation of CEO Bruno Bonnell, Atari Group's parent company, Infogrames Entertainment made the workforce lay off announcement this week.
Apparently, Atari is still having financial problems and because of them, the company's board of directors approved the reduction of employees. The plan was approved on April 10th and it will be completed by the end of July. Commenting on the recent move, Atari president and CEO David Pierce declared:
"We expect that today's reorganization will continue to reduce Atari's general and administrative cost. These actions, though difficult, are a significant first step in reorganizing Atari and demonstrate our commitment to restoring shareholder value."
With the announcement of the lay offs, some sources are wondering what this could mean for they’re "PlayStation Home " project. The potential home entertainment system project was revealed to UK trade magazine earlier this year and is said to be available this summer.
While this is unfortunate news for employees, it may end up being great news for consumers if Atari can hold onto customer loyalty. The Atari brand has been on a downward spiral for a long time. Dragon Ball Z games have made up the majority of their release schedules and only speculative upcoming projects have held customer interest.
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