Game giant EA feels the pinch, cuts 5% of its workforce

The largest videogame publisher in the world Electronic Arts has confirmed that it is to cut 5% or about 325 to 350 people of its workforce in a "realignment" of resources.

The news comes just after an extremely tough year for the videogame world in general as 2005 was a transition year between console generations which saw slow sales and lean profits for almost everyone in the business. December, usually a bumper month for the industry for obvious reasons, was unusually slow and EA reported that they would probably miss their third quarter earnings guidance.

However, company representatives are emphatic that the layoffs have nothing to do with slow sales or any one particular game. The company stated that it is cutting staff "so we have the most efficient alignment for all of our strategic priorities."