Following yesterday's report by Insider Gaming that the employees of Electronic Arts subsidiary BioWare are already very worried about layoffs due to the company's $55 billion buyout, an EA employee FAQ published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to promise that, at least for now, there's nothing to worry about.
There will be no immediate changes to your job, team, or daily work as a result of this transaction. Our focus is on driving innovation and expanding our global reach, all of which require world class teams, who are excited to shape the future of entertainment.
Of course, this is no guarantee there won't be any layoffs later down the road. After all, even Microsoft waited some time after acquiring Activision Blizzard to do its own mass layoffs.
Elsewhere in the FAQ, the company tells its employees why the buyout will benefit EA's overall strategy going forward:
As a public company, EA operates within the framework of public market expectations. Being a private company allows Electronic Arts to adopt a longer-term investment horizon, with greater latitude to pursue bold strategies without quarterly public market response.
This partnership gives us the ability to move faster and unlock new opportunities on a global stage. With a longer investment horizon – and the same discipline, focus, and operational excellence that has fueled our success – we’ll have greater creative and operational flexibility to drive innovation and build the next generation of entertainment experiences. We will continue to take bold creative bets and invest in our largest growth opportunities in service of our global communities of fans and players.
Lastly, Electronic Arts claims the company is financially strong, and the deal allows the publisher to 'unlock new opportunities'.
EA is in a strong financial position. This partnership gives us the ability to move faster and unlock new opportunities on a global stage.
However, we know that the publisher actually has a lot of debt, including $20 billion that partly funded this buyout from the Consortium (PIF, Silver Lake, Affinity Partners).
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