Today is a bad day to be a non-essential worker at Activision Blizzard. Despite hitting record financial milestones in 2018 and raking in cash at an alarming rate, company CEO Bobby Kotick announced in a financial call that they will be laying off "approximately eight percent" of their employees.
Given the sheer size of the company's workforce, that figure will likely add up to hundreds of people. According to a letter obtained by Kotaku sent by Blizzard president J. Allen Brack, the layoffs have already begun.
It's worth noting that these layoffs aren't coming completely out of the blue. It was reported mere days ago that the first round of job cuts would take place today.
It's not all bad news, though. Terminated employees will reportedly be given "comprehensive" severance packages, profit-sharing bonuses, and even job search assistance.
This situation is obviously still far from ideal for those affected, but Activision Blizzard is still doing much better by its employees than Telltale did in 2018. When the long-running adventure game studio closed, its employees were cut loose with virtually nothing; not even advanced warning.