Activision faces further job losses

Following the recent reduction in the workforce at its Santa Monica headquarters, software publisher Activision has confirmed reports that the company's restructuring plans will lead to further job losses in the UK.

The publisher has been forced to axe around 150 jobs in the US in an effort to maintain its position in the current market as the latest hardware transition completes and publishers begin to implement strategies for continued growth with the next-generation consoles.

Reductions in the workforce at Activision's US HQ, revealed last week, were billed as a "strategic, targeted reduction" to "optimise worldwide cost structure and resource allocation", with the company stating that some of the staff will be relocated to lessen the impact of the losses. It was not known at that time whether further reductions would be made outside of the US operations, but recent reports regarding the UK division have now been officially confirmed.

In an official statement, an Activision spokesperson said: "Due to market conditions and the ongoing console transition period, a number of jobs were at risk in the UK, mainly affecting Finance and PR functions, as well all temporary staff."

Little more is known at this stage in terms of the exact number of job losses affecting the UK division, or whether the global restructuring is likely to extend further into Activision's other EU operations.

"Activision is working with each employee affected to ensure the needs of each individual is the priority and so until the consultation process is complete, it's inappropriate to quantify job losses, but we'd like to thank everyone for their patience and dedication at this difficult time," the statement concluded.

The news follows the release of Activision's Q3 financials, which, although fairing better than some publishers during a particularly soft market, revealed a significant shortfall in profits and prompted a noticeably conservative outlook for the coming year. It should be noted however, that a number of entirely non-performance related factors, including a USD 92 million increase in A/R Reserves contributed heavily to that shortfall.