Unity will slash 25% of its workforce in an effort to "refocus on its core business" and to move towards growth, a new report has revealed.
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Unity will reduce its workforce by around 1800 employees in an attempt to "position itself for long-term and profitable growth".
In the SEC filing, Unity says it can't "reasonably estimate the costs and charges" associated with the layoffs, although it expects the financial fallout to happen in 2024's first quarter.
This news comes just weeks after Unity declared it would lay off hundreds of its employees and close its Weta Digital arm in what CEO Jim Whitehurst referred to as a company-wide "reset".
Those layoffs were relatively small compared to the ones announced today, however; just 265 employees were laid off in November, while almost 2000 are being laid off now.
All of this is, of course, set against the backdrop of the controversy Unity caused by revising its pricing change back in September, prompting a massive backlash from developers and leading to the resignation of former CEO John Riccitello.
The controversy even led to GameMaker seemingly taking a swipe at Unity when the former announced its new pricing policy in November, describing moves made by "other platforms" at the time as "awkward".
Unfortunately, these layoffs are part of a wider trend within the gaming industry, with big companies like Hasbro, Amazon Games, and Bungie also being hit by layoffs in recent months.
Some studios, like Team Kaiju, Saints Row developer Volition, and TimeSplitters studio Free Radical have been closed down, too.
It's not clear how Unity's reduction of its workforce will affect the company going forward, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next. Stay tuned for more news on all things industry-related.
