Meta has once again laid off employees from across the company. The layoffs, which were reported by The Washington Post mention Ready at Dawn and Downpour Studios.
my choice words are that i cannot disparage M*ta so let me just say that Ready at Dawn was a wonderful studio full of incredible people. i genuinely learned a ton, including from one co-worker in particular, who i will be eternally grateful toward.
— Colin McInerney (@ColinMcInerror) April 19, 2023
GameDeveloper reports that the two affected game studios lost upwards of a third of their staff. “Ready at Dawn was a wonderful studio full of incredible people,” said a former employee. “If you see anyone from M*ta (and Ready at Dawn in particular) looking for positions, please signal boost them.”
I just got laid off by @Meta and no longer work on @OnwardTheGame . If anyone is hiring designers feel free to reach out, or just if you wanna play some DMZ or something. I definitely got time now.
— Michael Tsarouhas (@mikee_vo) April 19, 2023
On Twitter, employees began to share the news of their unemployment by Meta. Others are mentally affected by the numerous layoffs. Thomas Griebel confirms that around one-third of the Ready at Dawn team was affected by today’s release, including a studio head.
After previously working with PlayStation, Ready at Dawn was purchased by Meta in 2020, the studio subsequently worked on Lone Echo II and Echo VR. Downpour Interactive was acquired in 2021 and worked on the VR title Onward.
Meta informed employees that they would be notified regarding who was being terminated. The other departments affected by the layoffs include Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Last year, Meta announced it was laying off 11,000 workers, reducing its workforce by 13 percent. Following the announcement, stock prices tumbled by 20 percent in October 2022.
