Game development platform Unity has completed its third and largest round of layoffs yet, with 600 jobs slashed.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal this marks around 8% of the company’s total workforce, with some of the cuts attributed to doubled-up roles resulting from the merger with ad-tech firm ironSource. The move was taken in order to set the company up for higher growth in the future as well as to improve their top and bottom lines, according to the WSJ. It also follows another highly publicised move to bring Unity ad-bidding to LevelPlay in open beta.
The layoffs come at a time when there are mixed fortunes for Unity. Despite a successful merger, and praise including an inclusion on one of outlet Fast Company’s most innovative lists, it seems cuts are still necessary. This may be partially due to both macroeconomic circumstances in general, and a slump in Unity’s stock price which has fallen 11% since the start of 2023. Their next financials will be released on May 10 and will attract a lot of eyeballs to see what their current state of affairs is.
Disunity
The move also echoes broader actions across the wider tech industry and allied trades, which often edges into gaming and indeed in the case of Unity forms a major part of their business. Fears of a recession and a need to ensure efficiency are driving bosses to cut costs, and unfortunately that too often means layoffs are in their sights.
With Unity’s layoffs completed the company looks towards the future with the potential to realise the benefits of their recent merger with ironSource. But with a move like this Unity will likely see increased scrutiny as to whether these layoffs will indeed achieve their goal, as the loss of tenured employees and the skill-drain that ensues will concern many.
