Sony Computer Entertainment of America has determined that layoffs are in order and has let go 80 to 100 employees at the Foster City, CA headquarters location.
The individuals selected for layoffs were released on Wednesday. An inside source informed Kotaku of the grim affair in which employees, who were notified of their last day of work, were instructed to leave the building immediately with all their personal belongings left behind; to be picked up after making an appointment at a later date.
As with many layoffs in corporations such as Sony; the employees never saw it coming even though the planning stages were probably well in effect weeks or even months before.
Reasons for these layoffs, according to upper management, included heavy losses incurred in part by poor sales of the PS3, as well as rising development costs of current-gen games.
David Karraker, head of Corporate Communications at Sony put his spin on the situation and said, "…Sony Computer Entertainment America has found it necessary to analyze our current business and to restructure the company as necessary to continue our standing as the market leader…"
Or, if you’re reading between the lines like we are, he’s really saying, "We’re bleeding money and we need to stop the hemorrhaging before we lose anymore ground to Nintendo and Microsoft."
In any event, the layoffs show that Sony is serious about making ends meet. But with the layoffs, there will probably be more coming until it rights itself financially.
[with additional reporting by Eddie Inzauto]
