News from Ukrainian technology publication AIN.UA has cited an internal statement from the founders of Playrix, the creators of mobile titles such as Gardenscapes. In the statement it is announced that the company intends to close all of its offices based in Russia and Belarus. It also notes that staff from these offices will be relocated to other countries.
Whilst the company has offices and staff across the globe, a vast majority are based in Russia and Ukraine. The company employs 4000 staff members, 1500 of them based in Ukraine and another 1500 being situated in Russia. The continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine is at the heart of these changes, as the company attempts to tackle the divide in a core part of its staff.
Relocation
In the translation from the founders’ message, it is stated that “A new round of escalation has now begun. To maintain the operational stability of the Playrix Group we have decided to close all Playrix offices in these countries, cease operations of our studios in Russia and Belarus and relocate employees from Russia and Belarus to other countries”, The statement ends by saying “We have a difficult period ahead, but we are confident that our team will cope with it. For our part, we will do our best. Take care of yourself.”
The company has previously attempted to maintain some sense of stability for its workers by paying an additional monthly salary to its entire workforce, this was to assure staff that the company can support its employees. However, the company also had to close down some of its online work communication channels as staff from opposing sides of the conflict had been clashing. These latest measures to remove staff from Russia and Belarus entirely appear to be the next step in creating some type of solidity for the company and its employees.
Playrix has yet to comment on the report and has made no official statements. Success from its titles such as Township, Fishdom, and the Scapes franchise saw Playrix land on our top 50 game makers list.
