Unity to lay off 25% of its workforce

Unity is starting the new year with a sizeable round of layoffs. According to Reuters, the company plans to ax 25% of its workforce, about 1,800 employees.

The layoffs are expected to be completed by March 2024 and it will affect all teams and areas of the business. The internal company memo states that this is being done as Unity “restructures and refocuses on its core business, and to position itself for long-term and profitable growth.”

At present, the company cannot determine what the related costs and charges will be though “charges will primarily relate to employee transition, severance payments, and employee benefits.” There has also been no word on what structural changes, though a company spokesperson confirmed that they are coming, Reuters reports.

These layoffs come after Unity faced great controversy in 2023 following the announcement of “runtime fees” for developers. Plans for these additional fees have continued, and CEO James Whitehurst states it is expected that the impact of this business model change will have “minimal benefit in 2024 and ramp from there as customers adopt our new releases.”

Last year, the gaming industry witnessed waves of layoffs striking several companies. It appears the trend is far from over, with Unity’s massive layoffs bringing a bad start to the year. VR studio Archiact has also already announced layoffs in 2024.