EA confirms layoffs in LA, Montreal

Electronic Arts today confirmed it had enacted a round of layoffs at its Los Angeles and Montreal offices, a well as "some smaller locations." In a blog post titled "Transition Is Our Friend," EA Labels president Frank Gibeau explained that the cuts are a result of the ongoing console transition.

"EA's leadership on these high-growth platforms allows us to retain and attract the industry's best talent. Thousands of our existing employees have been retrained and redeployed to work on the new platforms and initiatives. But when it is not possible to redeploy a team, we soften the tough decisions with assistance," Gibeau said. "This week we let some people go in Los Angeles, Montreal as well as in some smaller locations. These are good people and we have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease their transition to a new job."

EA's Los Angeles campus is home to BioWare Victory and Danger Close Games, the latter of which developed Medal of Honor: Warfighter. As for Montreal, EA has teams in the region working on Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel (Visceral Montreal) and mobile games (EA Montreal). It is not clear which teams were impacted or if development on any projects has been impacted as a result of the layoffs.

Gibeau described console transitions as "complex" and "challenging," but said he's not worried about EA's prospects. "We have never been more ready or more excited about what comes next," he said.

Last night, Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 after years of speculation. The console is due to retailers this holiday, and it may not be the only next-generation platform available later this year. Microsoft is reportedly set to announce the Xbox 720 during an Apple-style media briefing in March, with the system hitting retail later in the year.