BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Riot Games, creator of the popular fighting video game “League of Legends,” has joined the tech companies that have adjusted their employee costs and will lay off 11% of its workforce.
In a long statement sent to workers on Monday evening, the company's CEO, Dilan Jadeja, noted that the measure aims to “focus us and move us towards a sustainable future.” According to him, 530 jobs will be eliminated, or about 11% of the workforce.
Jadeja noted that the Los Angeles company has expanded its investments into several areas, doubling its headcount in a few years, and that it will now cut expenses to focus on gaming.
Riot Games said it will pay laid-off workers at least six months' salary, plus cash bonuses and other benefits.
In recent years, workforce reductions have affected sectors such as retail, technology, media and hospitality. Google, Amazon, Hasbro, and LinkedIn, among others, recently announced mass layoffs.
Many of the cuts in the technology sector, which has hired a large number of employees during the pandemic, came when people were spending a lot of time at home playing online games.
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