Eurocom forced to make large number of redundancies
UPDATE: Management statement says under 50 jobs will remain
Update
A management statement from studio Director Hugh Binns has clarified the situation at Eurocom, confirming wide ranging job losses which will see only 50 staff remain at the studio - from a workforce of more than 200.
"Eurocom are undertaking a restructuring which I regret to say has meant we've made the majority of our workforce redundant today," his statement reads.
"This includes many very experienced, talented and highly skilled employees, and we'd like to thank them all for your hard work and efforts.
"We've fought to try and save as many jobs as possible, but the steep decline in demand for console games, culminating in a number of console projects falling through in the last week, left us with no option. Eurocom has retained a core staff of just under 50 employees and will be focusing mainly on mobile opportunities moving forward."
Original story
Eurocom, the work for hire studio which most recently produced 007 Legends, is being forced to make wide-ranging redundancies today, GamesIndustry International has learned.
Hundreds of employees work for the studio, but it is not yet known how many will be keeping their jobs. An official statement is expected very soon.
Founded in 1988, the Derby-based outfit has produced a long list of games across platforms from the NES to the Wii U, turning more to conversions and licences in recent years. 007 Legends was poorly received by critics, scoring 45 per cent on Metacritic, partly a result of being turned around very quickly by the studio to fit with publisher timeframes.
Oh, and I suppose I might as well chirp in with the "I'm always looking for people" line. Cliched, but true. If anyone affected from there wants to drop me a line, you can always get me at franmulhern@recruit3d.com.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Fran Mulhern on 23rd November 2012 11:23am
Pitbull will welcome CVs from anyone affected...
Sad, sad news :-(
If you are looking for a new place to settle down, send your CV to Taitale Studios.
Our doors are open for you!
Good luck with the future guys!
In Silicon Spa.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by a moderator on 23rd November 2012 2:43pm
For one of the "safest bets" in console development to cut so many jobs is terrible but underlines how incredibly tough console development market is, particularly for Third Party Developers. Fingers crossed everyone affected finds new positions either with smaller indies or commutable larger studios like Sumo, Codies, SEGA, Crytek.
Good luck to all of you
Edit: Actually, that's two people have told me it now. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Fran Mulhern on 23rd November 2012 2:35pm
Eurocom is just literally 30 minutes away from me and one of the studios I would have liked to have worked for. It's actually quite scary to think that it was 10 years ago now that I first spoke to someone at Eurocom for information about getting into the industry and what being a QA tester meant.
In fact I would say their information was exactly what drove me to continue for a line of work within the industry.
I don't envy anyone laid off today but new and better opportunities will present themselves. And to those still at Eurocom (and Eurocom itself), I hope you're able to turn things around.
We currently have a number of vacancies at Rare and other Microsoft Studios - Some of the Rare team will be at the Mickleover Court Hotel, Etwall Road, Derby, DE3 OXX -on Monday at 12 noon - Please spread word to those looking for opportunities, we would welcome talking to them about potential employment at Rare and Microsoft Studios!
Activision's latest victim, the low critical reviews probably triggered a default and no payment clause deep in the contract, leaving them without what they'd factored for. Maybe Eurocom needed more eggs in the basket?
Terribly sorry for the crew, but at least the Microsoft/Rare opportunity in the comments above sounds pretty wonderful, keep moving forward!
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Pier Castonguay on 25th November 2012 8:15pm
You will have heard the sad news that Eurocom is having to make 150 people redundant. If you have any vacancies in your studios, please let Hugh Binns at Eurocom know as soon as possible by emailing him at: HughB@eurocom.co.uk
How a studio can continue to employ 50 people yet let 150 staff go unpaid amazes me.
Yes there may be loopholes and nothing illegal but it's morally repugnant.
I'd like to see TIGA and the UKIE work with employers to stamp this out
It's just not bloody good enough and makes my blood boil
Staff are a companies most important asset, directors should have this stamped on their foreheads
I found Eurocom a good bunch to work with even if we did not always see eye to eye on some things.
Hopefully you can find new jobs quickly.
"The firm said it would now concentrate on developing games for mobile phones."
Makes lots of sense.
Nothing they can say will justify what they have allegedly done to 150 employees.
It all feels a bit weird to be honest and I wouldn't be surprised if they are planning a phoenix.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Chris Sweetman on 29th November 2012 1:25pm
Edited 1 times. Last edit by John Bye on 30th November 2012 6:31pm
There's no point in these trade bodies even existing with the mandate of trying to build relationships with indies and publishers, fostering development for students entering into our industry when so many companies treat their staff in such a underhand and unprofessional manner.
They've been getting away with it for decades and I've been on the receiving end a few times myself.
It's obviously not high on TIGA or the UKIE's priorities to maintain a positive image for the industry in this country and fight for the employees in it.
Lot easier to wait for the story to get dropped and next studio to screw over it's staff.
No point in pushing a companies profile and business to the industry outside the UK when the staff are treated so badly.
Depressing !
I'm assuming with no pay.
"Administrator Dean Nelson stated: Whilst this is unfortunately the end of the established Eurocom business, efforts are continuing behind the scenes to attract interested parties to Derby in order to help fill the void left by Eurocom. We are still hopeful that there will in the future be a specialist software business operating in Derby in place of Eurocom, but the focus will be completely different and therefore this is sadly the end of the console games development business.
Edited 1 times. Last edit by Chris Sweetman on 7th December 2012 12:51pm