A developing story out of Austin – Zynga is rumored to have laid off over 100 employees, essentially shuttering the office.
News first spread around Twitter:
So far, I’m hearing closures of Zynga in Boston, Chicago, and Austin. INTERESTING TIMING, EH?
— Alex Navarro (@alex_navarro) October 23, 2012
Zynga just fired over a hundred people, giving them two hours to clear out their desks. They did it during the Apple keynote to avoid press.
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 23, 2012
Have confirmed that #Zynga Austin has laid off entire The Ville and Bingo teams, leaving just Slots team. Gross.
— Troy Gilbert (@troygilbert) October 23, 2012
Since then, the rumors have been verified and similar purges are being reported in Boston and Chicago.
In a similarly depressing vein, Bigpoint also cut 120 jobs and the CEO has left.
The layoffs were reportedly timed for the Apple announcement to minimize press coverage, but that plan is obviously not working. No word yet on what this means for the company’s future, but we’ll be updating as more details become available.
I saw people saying that they did it during the Apple keynote so it wouldn’t get press. But I think they fired them because they were watching the Apple Keynote instead of working! :p