Copyright videogameschronicle
Square Enix announced layoffs across “nearly all areas” of its Western business in an all-hands meeting on Thursday, VGC understands. In a video call to staff outside of its home country of Japan, including those based in Europe and America, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu said the company was implementing “overseas structural reform” to create a more “lean” and “agile” business abroad. Square Enix will be implementing a “fundamental restructuring of the overseas publishing organization”, Kiryu said. Details of the restructure will be shared at a later date, staff were told, however, it confirmed roles would be cut and employees left would be required to spend more time working in the office. Employees affected by the cuts would be informed on Thursday, staff on the video call were told. As is typical for company layoffs, no headcount figures were shared during the call, VGC was told. However, one person affected in Europe said that nearly 140 people were told they were “at risk” in the London office alone. That includes staff across IT, marketing, publishing, sales, QA, business planning, and more. Square Enix Europe’s entire Collective, external studios development and brand marketing, and Japanese comm support teams have been told they’re at risk, VGC understands. UK employment law means that affected employees are required to enter a period of consultation before any layoffs are confirmed. Square Enix hopes to make annual cost savings of over 3 billion yen ($19.6 million). It’s the second year Square Enix has made staff cuts across its American and European arms. According to a person on Thursday’s call, Kiryu claimed that last year’s overseas restructuring hadn’t worked. VGC has reached out to Square Enix for comment. Thursday’s layoffs announcement arrives on the same day that Square Enix shared its intention to have the majority of its QA and debugging work handled by generative AI within the next two years.
