Blockbuster Inc. plans to close 810 to 960 stores by the end of next year, including 280 to 300 normal closures and 300 to 385 accelerated closures this year.
Source: WSJ
Fuel Games, developer of iPhone, PC, online, and console games, told Gamasutra that it is cutting staff and is in the midst of restructuring — right after a venture capital injection.
“Last Thursday about 20 people were laid off from the Ottawa office (out of around 100 people), and reportedly the entire staff was told they would not be receiving their paychecks on Friday,” said an ex-Fuel Games employee who wished to remain anonymous.
Source: Gamasutra
Social web site Facebook Inc. is looking for hundreds of people to hire, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report, based on an Aug. 20 interview with Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said the Palo Alto, Calif. company plans to increase its work force by 50 percent this year. The business has about 900 workers right now.
Source: San Francisco Business Times
Swedish Bionic Commando and Terminator: Salvation developer GRIN has shed light on widespread media reports of trouble at the studio, announcing today that it must close down completely due to cash flow issues.
With titles including Ballistics, Bandits, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 and 2 for PC, Bionic Commando Rearmed and Terminator: Salvation under its belt, the company has seen a considerable rise in the last few years.
Source: Gamasutra
Adopting the robot janitor character from the Disney/Pixar movie “WALL-E” as their poster child, a group of janitors laid off from Pixar Animation Studios protested today outside Pixar’s Emeryville headquarters.
Nine out of a staff of 21 janitors were laid off in January when Pixar entered into contract with a new janitorial firm, Preferred Building Services Inc., which has offices in San Francisco.
Source: MercuryNews
Thousands of people took to the streets to protest a decision by Diageo, the drinks giant, to shuts its Johnnie Walker bottling plant. The firm has announced that it will close the plant in the town, which has been linked with Johnnie Walker since 1820, with the loss of 700 jobs.
A further 200 jobs are to go with the closure of its distillery in Port Dundas, Glasgow, although 400 new jobs would be created at a packaging plant in Fife.
Source: The Daily Telegraph
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands says it has laid off nearly 200 people in Las Vegas. The company laid off 280 people in March.
Las Vegas Sands owns the Venetian and Palazzo hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as Sands Macao, Venetian Macau and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem in Pennsylvania.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
ESPN has notified about 100 employees in the state that they will be losing their jobs at Bristol, Connecticut.
Source: CNBC, AP
~News submitted by upthecreek
Las Vegas Sands Corp., controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson, plans to cut as many as 4,000 more jobs in Macau as the casino operator seeks to reduce costs.
Between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs will be eliminated by September, on top of the company’s workforce reduction to 17,500 from “close to 20,000” at its headcount peak in Macau, new Chief Operating Officer Michael Leven said in an interview.
Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal, is the world’s biggest gambling hub.
Source: Bloomberg
The Walt Disney Co. has eliminated 1,900 jobs since Feb. 18 in its backstage operations in Orlando and California, the company confirmed late Friday.
Of that total, 1,400 of the positions were in Central Florida. The company laid off 900 workers and eliminated 500 positions. In California, 200 workers lost their jobs and the company eliminated 100 positions.
Source: Orlando Business Journal
Lionsgate is believed to be slashing 8% of its workforce in a second round of redundancies after the Santa Monica-based studio cut 41 jobs last November.
The studio did not return calls about the latest cull, which is understood will reduce the headcount by 45 to approximately 500 people.
Source: Screen Daily
Layoffs forced 283 people out of work [Friday] at Las Vegas Sands Corp. in Las Vegas.
Ron Reese, spokesman for the company, said the affected employees worked in the corporate offices as well as the Venetian and Palazzo resorts on the Strip. He said nearly 7,000 full-time equivalent positions remain in Las Vegas.
Source: Las Vegas Sun
Hundreds of Walt Disney World employees in Florida are being handed pink slips and escorted off the property.
Orlando Business Journal said its broadcast partner, Central Florida News 13, said the layoffs involve from 400 to 800 people, but Disney officials would not confirm the number of people affected. Disney said layoffs are part of the restructuring announced last month.
Source: Pacific Business News
According to LA Times: “Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures has been slashing costs recently, but apparently it hasn’t been enough. The studio is planning to get rid of 300 positions, primarily because of weak DVD sales, the LA Times reported this morning.”
Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA,CMCSK) laid off nearly 3,300 people in the third and fourth quarters of last year because of a reorganization of its cable-television operations, its chief financial officer, Michael Angelakis, said in its earnings conference call Wednesday.
Comcast said last October that it was going to eliminate 300 positions in the eastern division of its cable operations as a result of the reorganization.
Source: Nashville Business Journal
Walt Disney Co says domestic theme parks division to consolidate operations, job cuts expected. Theme parks reorganization effective immediately.
Source: Reuters, CNBC
~News submitted by upthecreek
According to Reuters: “THQ Inc (THQI) posted a quarterly loss as sales of video games fell more than expected, and the company warned results for the current quarter were likely to be “significantly” below what it had previously anticipated.”
The company plans to layoff 600 people (24% of workforce) in fiscal 2010 and cut spending by $220 million.
According to CNBC: “Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, California, said it would cut 1,100 jobs, or about 11 percent of its workforce, higher than the 1,000 it announced in December. It also plans to close 12 facilities as it narrows its product portfolio.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
According to CNBC: “International Game Technology, the world’s largest maker of slot machines and casino management systems, announced Thursday it will lay off an additional 200 workers as the recession takes a deepening toll on the casino industry.
The layoffs of manufacturing workers — on top of a November cut of 500 jobs — will occur by April, the company said.”
“In all, the Reno-based company said it has trimmed its global work force of about 5,000 by a little more than 10 percent.”
~News submitted by upthecreek
According to Bloomberg: “Time Warner Inc.’s AOL online unit will cut as much as 10 percent of its workforce because the U.S. recession has forced advertisers to reduce spending.
Employees won’t receive merit pay increases in 2009, New York-based AOL said today in a memo to workers. The number of people fired will total 700, said a person familiar with AOL’s plans.”
“The Warner Bros. film and television unit is eliminating or outsourcing 800 positions. Publishing division Time Inc. said in October it would cut 600 jobs, or 6 percent of the workforce.”
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