Nintendo to Close European HQ, Cutting 130 Jobs in the Process

Nintendo's European headquarters in Großostheim, Germany is closing down, and 130 people will be out of a job as a result, the Mario company announced today. Nintendo's European operations have shifted to the company's Frankfurt office, while the the Großostheim office building and warehouse will be sold.

"Nintendo of Europe has entered into a consultation process on a number of changes it is intending to make to its European business which, in the long term, will better enable the European business to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment," a Nintendo of Europe representative told Eurogamer.

"The measures include the consolidation of the current European headquarters in Großostheim (Germany) to Frankfurt (Germany), the closure of the warehouse and office in Großostheim, as well as outsourcing and reorganising some functions," the statement goes on.

Nintendo adds that this decision was not made lightly, arriving only after Nintendo conducted a "thorough analysis and careful consideration" of its operations. "The intended measures will sadly have a direct effect on some of the employees based in the Großostheim and Frankfurt offices in Germany and would lead to the release of approximately 130 permanent employees," the company said.

The announcement comes just days before Nintendo's E3 2014 briefing in Los Angeles, which takes place at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10. Nintendo is expected to make new 3DS and Wii U game announcements during the event, including potentially a make-your-own Mario game called Mario Maker.

Last month, Nintendo announced that poor Wii U sales--which stand at just over 6 million to date--were in part to blame for the company's recent posting of a third straight year of annual losses. Looking ahead, Nintendo plans to sell another 3.6 million Wii U systems by March 2015.

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