Is Activision Poised for Layoffs?
February 11, 2019 by Chris LangeActivision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) shares dipped on Monday after a report came out that the video game firm plans to announce some job cuts along with its earnings report late on Tuesday.
It’s worth pointing out that this report came in the days following disappointing Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive earnings reports.
The new report originally came from Bloomberg late on Friday, and it says that this round of job cuts “could number in the hundreds.”
The layoffs would be part of a restructuring effort as the company faces sluggish sales, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Perhaps a big contributor to these video game stocks facing poor results is the up-and-coming video game Fortnite, which has been a smash hit with video gamers across the world and across all platforms.
Back in January, Activision’s stock dropped after it announced a split from game studio Bungie, which created the popular Destiny game franchise and the Halo franchise before that.
This round of layoffs could be in relation to splitting with the Destiny franchise. Activision had employed “an entire team full of Destiny support staff” across functions such as public relations, marketing and social media, according to a report by gaming news site Kotaku.
Shares of Activision Blizzard were last seen down about 4% at $41.74 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $41.70 to $84.68. The consensus analyst price target is $60.54.
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