Some former employees of a mobile video game studio in Montreal say they feel disrespected for the way management told them they had been fired.
On Thursday, US-based video game studio Jam City Inc. Major cuts were made to the company’s workforce, including dozens of employees at its Montreal subsidiary, Ludia.
CBC Montreal spoke to several former employees who said they learned about the layoffs through word of mouth after management held a morning staff meeting exclusively for those detained.
“Those who were safe were” [told]”Come into the meeting, we’re announcing that we’re going to lay off people. If you’re in this meeting, you’re safe,” said Kevin, a former quality officer who was fired.
He said his colleagues were told to keep the news private from affected staff, who would be notified of their termination later that day in individual private meetings with human resources.
But within half an hour of the morning meeting, Kevin said he lost access to his various work accounts and tools.
“It feels like a slap in the face,” he says.
The former employee, who had been with Ludia since September 2021, asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions on his career in the industry.
Employees critical of culture change
Kevin said he was told the layoffs were for economic purposes and corporate restructuring. But he said a separate email from management said the company was removing “redundant roles.”
“That felt like a personal blow of like, ‘Your job is redundant, so we’re just going to remove it,'” he said.
Before the end of the day, Kevin said his former team went from 40 to 22 employees. He said human resources told him that up to 60 people had been laid off at Ludia.
The studio’s parent company, Jam City, has not confirmed the number of layoffs, but said the cuts at the Montreal studio make up less than 20 percent of the workforce there.
Founded in 2007, Ludia specializes in mobile video games such as Jurassic World Alive, The Price Is Right, Family Feud and other game show brands.
CBC Montreal spoke to three former employees who were critical of the studio’s cultural changes since its acquisition by Los Angeles-based Jam City Inc. last fall.
The employees, who were also given anonymity for fear of career consequences, said the games’ profitability was prioritized over their quality.
“It was a lot of business talk, money talk, cost-effective. All talk about the fun of video games, or just like the general feeling of making video games, was off the table,” Kevin said, referring to complaints he heard from his colleagues. .
A former employee who worked for Ludia for two years quit shortly after the acquisition because he did not agree with the direction the company would take. The studio had recently announced a new development that would include non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
They also said that during a post-acquisition Q&A session, Ludia told employees there would be no layoffs. Jam City has refuted that claim.
Industry always looking for talent
In a statement to CBC Montreal, Jam City said it has been making staff cuts across all of its studios to account for the “current economic downturn and the impact it has had on the gaming industry.”
But the Entertainment Software Association of Canada says the industry is only getting bigger and Montreal studios will compete for workers like Kevin who was fired.
“Traditionally, the video game industry has been a recession-proof industry,” said President and CEO Jayson Hilchie.
“In the Montreal area alone, there are more than about 2,000 job openings in the video game industry, with multiple companies constantly hiring,” he said.
Hilchie said the city has recently been short of talent.
“This one [laid off workers] will most likely get opportunities at multiple different video game studios while looking for a new job,” he said.
But Kevin says he’ll take some time for himself to unplug before deciding whether to get back into the game.
“I wish the fun of video games came back,” he said.
“The first thing about making a video game shouldn’t be the money.”
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