Following a tumultuous year, Unity has announced it will make significant cuts to its workforce in its largest round of layoffs ever. Per reporting from Reuters, around 1,800 jobs are set to be cut at the company, accounting for around 25% of the total workforce.
While Unity previously revealed layoffs would be likely, due to a need for more “agility” and to create “value” for customers and shareholders, the full scale of the layoffs was unknown. Now, it appears they will be highly significant, impacting all segments of the business.
“We are … reducing the number of things we are doing in order to focus on our core business and drive our long-term success and profitability,” Jim Whitehurst, interim Unity CEO wrote to employees in a memo viewed by Reuters.
Whitehurst reportedly provided no specifics on structural changes, although it’s likely change will be swift. Per a shareholder letter posted in November 2023, the company is set to undergo a major “reset” shortly, as enabled by “the right product portfolio, the right initiatives and clear focus.” At the time, it was reported that all “interventions” would be completed by the end of Q1 2024.
Read: Unity will “likely” initiate layoffs to improve profitability
As Reuters states, Unity has initiated a number of steps towards this goal in recent months, with this latest round of layoffs being the fourth of similar moves. In addition, John Riccitiello recently stepped down as Unity CEO, and several changes have been made to planned monetisation models, following online backlash. To further save on costs, Unity recently announced the closure of some of its offices, and the removal of mandated work-from-office conditions.
In the coming weeks, it’s expected the next phase of Unity’s reset will continue, with 1,800 employees left without jobs amidst a significant period of economic turmoil and redundancies. Our thoughts are with those impacted by Unity’s planned layoffs.
