Update: following a clarification from Jim Ryan we would like to point out that the layoffs would not yet be effective, at the moment the plan includes the redundancy of hundreds of employees of the PlayStation division, we are talking about 900 jobs but this number is subject to possible variations. The original news follows.
Sony has announced that it plans to lay off around 900 employees from its PlayStation divisiona workforce equal to 8% of the total Game & Network Services division, which includes the PlayStation business.
The layoffs not only affect employees in the United States but around the world, underlines Jim Ryan, who is about to leave his role at Sony. The company proposes the complete closure of London Studio and the significant downsizing of Firesprite, while it is unclear whether the studio's AAA PS5 exclusive is still in development or not. Staff cuts then hit other divisions in America, European territories and Japan.
Jim Ryan then released a note saying so extremely sorry about this situation but the company has been trying to understand for months how to deal with this difficult historical period. Now is the time to reorganize your forces and restructure part of your operations to better face the challenges of the future.
Sony will continue to invest in its internal teamsall the people who received the dismissal letter will be helped and supported according to local laws so as to be placed in other company branches if possible.
This is, Ryan underlines, a very difficult decision to make, but at this moment probably the only sensible one to be able to continue operating and overcome the difficult historical and economic period.