Despite the recent surge in interest in PlayStation, thanks to the very successful launch of the PS4, Sony as a company is still facing many challenges due to heavy competition from Apple and Samsung. During the past few years, under new CEO Kaz Hirai, Sony has begun to shut down plants, sell off assets and reduce headcount in order to save some much needed money. A little over a year ago, Sony reduced its workforce by 10,000 employees, and since then, the company has continued to cut staff where it sees fit. While for gamers many of these troubles seemed distant, the most recent layoffs have hit closer to home. Even worse is that more cuts are expected as Sony continues to fix its financial woes.

It’s been revealed that Sony Santa Monica Studios over the last 24 hours has initiated a series of layoffs, nearing 50 employees who no longer have jobs. This was confirmed by the project’s lead level designer Jonathan Hawkins, a 10+ year veteran of the famous studio who took to Twitter about it:

Yesterday, I was laid off. It was a good 10 year run & I got to make three 90+ games. I lived the dream & got to accomplish all of my goals.

— jonathanhawkins (@jonathanhawkins) February 26, 2014 

Except one… making something out of nothing & creating a new AAA IP.

— jonathanhawkins (@jonathanhawkins) February 26, 2014 

The saddest part of waking up today is I no longer get to work with my family.

— jonathanhawkins (@jonathanhawkins) February 26, 2014 

Secondly, the pain that I feel for my friends who have lost their jobs.

— jonathanhawkins (@jonathanhawkins) February 26, 2014 

The saddest & most important part is the game I was creating for the player that will never be played. I’m sorry that I’ve failed you.

— jonathanhawkins (@jonathanhawkins) February 26, 2014 

It’s widely reported that Hawkins and co. were working on a new “Open World” IP on the PlayStation 4 with focus on science fiction which has also been cancelled. Conflicting reports also point to Stig Asmussen (God of War 3) as the man who was leading the project while others state that his project and Cory Barlogs (God of War 2) are still chugging along and that this is a 3rd project that the studio was working on. All previous reports from insiders also point to a development that been going forward smoothly, making the cancelation all that more shocking.

What makes this whole situation a bit more baffling is that less than a month ago, Santa Monica Studios announced their move to a new 85,000 square feet office due to the growing size of the studio and the many projects that the studio was involved with. To that end, the AAA studio was feverishly looking to fill new positions that were opening up in order to accommodate the different game developments that were taking place. A spokesperson for Sony had this to say:

 SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio. This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within SCE WWS. We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted. 

Unfortunately on the layoff front, the bad news doesn’t end there. In the past 24 hours, a large number of Sony employees have been notified that they no longer are employed by the company. While we knew Sony was selling off their VAIO PC division, which would see the brand pulling out from most territories except Japan, the nearly 1,000 layoffs that are being reported span far beyond VAIO. Many in Sony’s San Diego headquarters with different positions which include marketing and PR are also finding themselves without a job.

I should note that over the many years of running SRN, I’ve come to know many of the Sony employees and they’ve never failed to delight me in some form or fashion. In fact, while attending events like CES is certainly a joy because of the obvious abundance of technology, what truly makes it worth while are the people who you interact with. As with most layoff articles that exist, they tend to be released in a cold vacuum that’s only filled with some form of number and no face to represent those numbers. In this case, I personally know a few wonderful people who no longer have a job which has such a human toll to it as they have bills and mortgages to worry about.

With the shuttering of VAIO and Sony spinning off its Bravia television division, Sony employees may have plenty reasons to be paranoid about as the company continues to struggle financially. Unfortunately as is the case with layoffs, employees have little control over the matter and only find themselves in such predicaments due to mismanagement from the company leadership. Of course very rarely will you see those people lose their job and Sony has no shortage of division heads who’ve led the company down paths carved for the decade past and not the for current decade or the decade to come, resulting in the company losing a majority of the market shares it once enjoyed in the consumer market.

From the SRN staff and myself, our sincerest sympathies go to you and your families and thank you for such great times we’ve been able to share. While I won’t mention any names, you know who you are and if there is anything we at SRN can do for you, don’t hesitate to contact us and if you so wish, you can remain anonymous as well.

Update:

We’ve learned that cuts are stacking up to 5,000 globally with 1,000 of them coming from the US.

Discuss:

How do you see Sony’s outlook?