The largest Japanese studio GREE, engaged in mobile and social games, laid off 11% of its employees. This is reported by the blog Dr. Serkan Toto, which is led by a German analyst living in Tokyo.
GREE has planned to retire approximately 200 employees, which is about 11% of the company’s total workforce (1,762 people). The company offers to apply to everyone “willing” from October 9 to October 28, 2013. The management hopes to reduce costs and increase the profitability of the business by reducing staff.
A couple of days ago, the Japanese business newspaper The Nikkei reported that GREE is closing its Osaka division. 30 employees of the company were offered to quit or move to Tokyo, where GREE’s main office is located. The representative office in Osaka was opened only in the spring of 2012.
Recently, GREE has faced a number of problems. The financial burden forced the administration to close several new projects in the summer. The studio has also reduced its presence in the international market. The market value of the company’s shares is constantly falling. Previously, the company relied on the browser as the main platform, but now games distributed through the App Store and Google Play are gaining popularity in Japan, which is why GREE has to master new methods of work.
Source: serkantoto.com