Video game developer Bungie cuts 8% of staff, part of wider restructuring

A little more than a year after being acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment (Sony) for US$3.6 billion, Bungie is scaling back its staffing levels.

According to news outlets, including Bloomberg, the video game developer has laid off approximately eight per cent of its workforce, or 100 employees. It remains unclear if Canadian workers are affected.

“[It’s] a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” CEO Pete Parsons said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“What these exceptional individuals have contributed to our games and Bungie culture has been enormous and will continue to be a part of Bungie long into the future.”

The job cuts come as Sony continues to reduce the size of its PlayStation division — leading some analysts to believe that a wider restructuring is taking place.

Bungie’s LinkedIn page claims that it employs a total workforce of more than 1,600 people.

Staff speaking out

Some employees affected by the layoffs at Bungie, including Griffin Bennett, confirmed on social media that they had been let go.

“A surreal thing to write as I sit here pondering what went wrong. I’m still processing it all and while my first instinct is anger, I know I’d regret what I’d say,” Bennett said in a post on X.

“Thank you to everyone at Bungie who helped make my [time at the company] the best ever.”

Major tech layoffs continue

The reduction at Bungie comes amid a flurry of tech sector layoffs in 2023.

Big names, including Epic Games, CD Projekt Red, Nokia, LinkedIn, Amazon, Twitch, Google, Dell, Telus, and Meta, have announced deep job cuts as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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Termination agreements for Bungie employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees at Bungie are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing, corporate restructuring, or the closure of the business.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

People working “on contract” or as a contractor may also be owed severance pay — given that many employees in Canada are often misclassified as independent contractors.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance for technology industry employees
• Severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance packages in mass layoffs

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains why you are still owed severance if you have been downsized on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper severance if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you don’t receive the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.

In some cases, employers pressure staff into accepting poor severance packages, such as imposing a deadline for accepting the offer.

Non-unionized employees in Canada have up to two years from the date of their dismissal to pursue a claim for full severance pay.