On Monday, Bungie was the latest company to lay off a number of its employees, continuing a trend that doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Now, just about 24 hours later, we have more details on the Bungie layoffs thanks to Paul Tassi of Forbes.
According to what Tassi was told by a source, it was Bungie’s decision to let go of employees, not Sony’s. As far as those who were let go, they were told that many employee benefits “only last until the end of the month”. With the layoffs happening on October 30, it gave those impacted just one day of the benefits.
Tassi also says that many of the employees had shares that were unvested from the purchase of the company by Sony. They now stand to lose them despite being fired as opposed to leaving on their own accord.
He did clarify, however, that health insurance will last as long as an employee’s severance does.
“These shares would be received based on staying with the company for a certain number of years following the sale,” Tassi said. “But those shares revert to Bungie if you leave, even if you’re fired, which is what’s happening now to many of those affected.”
One employee who is still at the company, but spoke on the condition of anonymity said that they were “blindsided” by what happened, and the way people were let go was “without any respect or appreciation of the work they’ve done here”.
The only comment on the layoffs came late on Monday on Twitter in a post from CEO Pete Parsons.
“Today is a sad day at Bungie as we say goodbye to colleagues who have all made a significant impact on our studio,” he said. “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.”
Bungie has yet to respond to requests for clarification on the full scope of the layoffs.
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