Sega of America union calls out Sega for latest mass layoffs
61 people reportedly laid off, QA and localisation teams most affected
Sega of America will lay off 61 people in March, according to the state of California and the Sega of America AEGIS union. The layoffs are allegedly aimed at the company's QA and localisation departments, and represent around 13% of Sega of America's workforce.
This story begins with a California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification announcement which was reposted by an automated What Layoff account, passed along by a Resetera user, and then written up by VGC. According to the WARN notice, Sega of America will lay off 61 employees on March 8th, 2024. For context, California's WARN act requires companies to give 60 days notice before a mass layoff.
VGC has also obtained confirmation from California's Employment Development Department, according to whom the layoffs fall in two batches of 49 and 12 staff, though they both come into effect on the same day. Sega of America have around 440 people on the books at the time of writing.
Since those reports came to light, we've had an update from the Sega of America union, which was founded last July and is part of the wider Communications Workers Of America. According to AEGIS, the layoffs could have been even more severe.
"A few months ago, Sega management announced their plan to outsource QA and part of localization in a move that would significantly impact our workforce," reads a TwiX thread. "We've been fighting back on these terms since then, but today the layoff that will result in the loss of 61 jobs across these two departments was made public."
"Through our union efforts, we've been able to more than double the number of saved jobs, and to offer severance to our temp workers," it continues. "This, however, does not take away from the fact that many of our coworkers are being laid off in a decision we believe will have a negative impact on the working conditions of those who remain with the company, and in the quality of our future games."
Sega themselves have yet to officially comment on all this, but the layoffs are consistent with the publisher's ambition "to implement structural reforms aimed at increasing efficiency", as discussed in a letter to investors last year. Best of luck to anybody affected.