Since their successful IPO Unity has sadly been no stranger to massive layoffs. Back in June 2022 the first round of layoffs were announced, followed by another round, then another. Following the departure of CEO John Riccitiello incoming Interim CEO James M. Whitehurst said the company would be facing a “reset”. The first stage of this reset was announced the end of 2023 with the closing of Weta Digital but more layoffs were incoming. Today those layoffs arrive and they are massive, a full 25% of the company or 1,800 employees.
Details from Reuters:
Videogame software provider Unity Software (U.N) will target laying off approximately 25% of its workforce, or 1,800 jobs, the company said in a regulatory filing and internal company memo on Monday.
After the announcement, Unity shares were up nearly 5% in after-hours trading.
This is the San Francisco-based company’s largest layoff ever, with completion expected by the end of March, the company said. While Unity is not widely recognized outside the gaming industry, over 1.1 million game creators rely on its software toolkit each month, including the maker of the popular “Pokemon Go,” “Beat Saber” and “Hearthstone” games.
Monday’s deep job cuts will affect all teams, regions and areas of the business, the company told Reuters.
The layoffs come shortly after interim CEO Jim Whitehurst announced a “company reset” in November.
“We are … reducing the number of things we are doing in order to focus on our core business and drive our long-term success and profitability,” Whitehurst wrote in the memo to all Unity employees on Monday.
While Whitehurst provided no specifics on structural changes to come, a company spokesperson confirmed there will be additional changes coming. This is the fourth round of layoffs the company has conducted since July 2022.
You can learn more about the massive layoffs at Unity in the video below.