Square Enix Started Layoffs at its US and Europe Offices as Part of Restructuring

Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix has started layoffs at its subsidiary in the USA and Europe as part of an ongoing company restructuring.

Following the recent earning report and new business plan announcement, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu held an internal meeting and confirmed that a number of layoffs will be happening across its America and Europe arms, according to a report by VGC.

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While the initial report noted that the layoffs will happen over the course of the next month, those impacted are to be informed this week, staff were told.

The layoffs have already started as employees begin to announce that they are impacted on social media, such as a post from Ana Horta, Associate Sales Analyst at Square Enix.

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Sadly I have been impacted by the layoffs here at Square Enix.
Thank you for 2 wonderful years full of experience, growth, & trust. This was my childhood dream to be here. Please let me if you’re looking for a gaming/entertainment analyst ! Thank you everyone ️ pic.twitter.com/ioGdLiIzdR

— Ana ️ (@ana0216h) May 13, 2024

The scale of the layoffs has not been shared, but staff were told in the meeting that Square Enix’s Collective indie games division and IT will be predominantly affected.

Many of Square Enix’s main Slack channels were also locked following the internal meeting, according to sources.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, one of Square Enix’s most recent titles | Image Credit: Square Enix

In the recent publication of Square Enix’s new medium-term business plan, the company noted that it plans to “rebuild overseas business divisions from the ground up”, which coincides with the layoffs.

Square Enix also noted that it “began optimizing costs at its European and American offices via structural reforms”, and it will “redesign organizational structure in line with new organization in Japan”.

The new medium-term business plan also revealed that Square Enix will be focusing on multiplatform releases going forward.

Furthermore, the latest financial results indicated that profits were down by nearly 70% from the previous year, with “¥22,087 million ($141 million) in losses” mentioned.