Playtika Bows Down To Economic Headwinds, Tech Meltdown; Slashes Workforce And Gaming Titles
Israeli tech company Playtika Holding Corp (NASDAQ: PLTK) reportedly plans to downsize 15% of its staff.
The redundancies will impact 615 people from its total workforce of 4,100 across the company's global footprint in Europe, Israel, and the U.S., TechCrunch reports.
An internal memo noted that three titles, including 'MergeStories,' 'DiceLife,' and 'Ghost Detective' will sunset to rationalize costs.
Playtika will offer alternative roles to a proportion of employees impacted by the cuts.
CEO Robert Antokol told TechCrunch, "We believe the structure announced today further leverages our core strengths of delivering superior in-game experiences and scaling mobile games to global franchises in continuation of growth. Saying goodbye to talented colleagues and friends is difficult."
The report noted Playtika was one of the waves of businesses with its popular online gambling and gaming titles that went public last year, riding on the back of a massive surge in usage among pandemic consumers.
However, the lack of stability in the gaming business, coupled with general depression in tech stocks, wreaked havoc on the company.
Shareholder, Joffre Capital, pulled out of a deal to take a majority stake in the company after governance disputes.
Playtika had already eliminated 250 workers in May.
The report further added that, among other gaming companies, Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA) reportedly sought a buyer; Unity Software Inc (NYSE: U) laid off around 200 people, and some believe this is just the start.
Price Action: PLTK shares closed higher by 2.99% at $8.61 on Friday.
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