PlayStation Lays Off 90 North American Workers
Sony Interactive Entertainment has laid off more than 90 workers across its North American business, Axios reported Thursday.
An estimated 93 staff were cut from the work force, with the focus on PlayStation's sales and marketing departments. Almost the entire retail marketing department fell victim to the cuts, which Sony says is part of a "global transformation" of its sales and business operations, per internal messaging viewed by VGC.
PlayStation didn't just close out Sony's fiscal year by buying a game studio and revising its subscription plan
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) March 31, 2022
It also just quietly laid off dozens of workers in its sales and marketing teams as part of a "global transformation" of how it does business https://t.co/TRXuap3T33
Sony's "merchandiser" team, which focuses mostly on visiting retailers to brief them on company products, was a major target in the cuts as Sony's business shifts away from retail and toward digital.
The cuts are part of a years-long refocus toward direct-to-consumer marketing. The PlayStation Direct platform, for example, launched in September 2019 and sells consoles, games and accessories directly to consumers. In May 2021, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said PlayStation Direct was expected to generate over $600 million in Sony's fiscal year, which ended in March.
Sony has not commented on the cuts. The company announced plans to revamp its PlayStation Plus service earlier this week, adding an Xbox Game Pass-style digital library to higher tier subscriptions to the service.