It’s no secret that GameStop has been struggling of late, but those struggles are finally starting to catch up with the people who work for GameStop. Over 120 employees were recently laid off from GameStop as well as seven members of Game Informer’s editorial team, affecting approximately 14% of the company’s total staff at its corporate headquarters. A GameStop official was in contact with IGN, telling them:
As part of the previously announced GameStop Reboot initiative to transform our business for the future and improve our financial performance, we can confirm a workforce reduction was implemented impacting more than 120 corporate staff positions, representing approximately 14% of our total associate base at our company headquarters as well as at some other offices.
While these changes are difficult, they were necessary to reduce costs and better align the organization with our efforts to optimize the business to meet our future objectives and success factors. We recognize that this is a difficult day for our company and particularly for those associates impacted. We appreciate their dedication and service to GameStop and are committed to supporting them during this time of transition.
Earlier this month, GameStop was hit with massive layoffs following the company’s restructuring, impacting district managers and store leaders. The restructure is a response to the company’s decline in profits in recent years. As digital games are on the rise, and Amazon makes ordering physical copies quick and easy, specialty retailers have seen a major decrease in physical media sales. Although, GameStop was pleased to learn that the next generation PlayStation will still support physical media, and is likely hoping to use the launch of the new systems as a springboard to become more profitable.
It’s unclear if the company’s restructuring is working out, but if the recent layoffs are any indication, GameStop is still in bad shape. It will be interesting to see what strategy console manufacturers employ for next-gen consoles if GameStop does entirely go out of business.
We’ll continue to keep you updated with all things GameStop as more information becomes available. We wish all those affected by the layoffs the very best and hope they land on their feet.
[Source: IGN]
