Chris Deering, who left Sony Europe in 2005, claims that workers “go to the beach for a year” to relax…

The wave of layoffs in the industry has been steadily increasing and is now considered a tsunami that is hitting the industry from top to bottom. Due to downsizing, many teams were forced to cease operations, cancel games or declare an uncertain situation, and the situation does not seem to be improving, it has only stabilized. But in the face of constant fear, Chris Deering, the former president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, not only believes the layoffs are “not the fault of greedy bosses,” but concluded a recent speech by saying “that’s life.”

In an interview with the My Perfect Console podcast, Deering, who left Sony in 2005, downplayed concerns about corporate greed behind the layoffs, a recurring theme of the crisis. He suggested that those affected should consider options such as “driving Uber” or “going to the beach for a year” until the employment situation stabilizes.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say that the resulting layoffs have been greedy,” Deering said.

Immediately afterwards, the businessman added that he had always tried to avoid rapid staff expansion so that there would be no problems during complex economic cycles. Deering, who was Sony’s European head at the time of the launch of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles, defends that his approach was one of careful management of resources, given the video game industry’s sensitivity to market fluctuations such as the current one. Still, returning to the previous topic, he was quick to confirm that the top executives are not doing this out of greed.

The former Sony chairman also acknowledged that recent layoffs at Sony, including the closure of its London studio, reflect a wider problem in the industry. Deering argued that the lack of revenue from recent games could make it difficult to justify spending on future projects. Despite the challenges – without mentioning Concord himself – he was optimistic about the recovery of those involved and hinted that the situation could improve faster than expected. Deering also gave pragmatic advice to those who lost their jobs: “It’s still where the action is, and it’s like the pandemic but now you’re going to have to … figure out how to get through it,” he said.

The wave of layoffs that also hit Sony affects at least 11,500 people

As you may remember, Sony laid off around 900 PlayStation employees in February. The trend of layoffs in the industry has continued ever since: more than 11,500 people have been affected so far. In addition to the Japanese giants, Microsoft, Embracer, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are also part of it. But despite the significant impact on the industry’s overall workforce, Deering expressed optimism that many of those laid off will find new opportunities and be able to recover from these downturns soon. Meanwhile, the industry is constantly evolving – see, for example, yesterday’s announcement of the PS5 Pro, which we wrote about here!

Source: EuroGamer

Chris Deering, former boss of PlayStation, does not believe the recent, widespread layoffs in the games industry derive from corporate greed, and that affected workers should “drive an Uber” or “go to the beach for a year” until things turn around: pic.twitter.com/uXUkNTbXQ5

— Simon Parkin (@SimonParkin) September 10, 2024