US PlayStation group cuts around 100 jobs

Foster City (CA) - In its latest reorganization, Sony Computer Entertainment America has laid off nearly 100 employees, demanding they leave the premises immediately upon notice of termination.

Sony says the layoffs are part of a restructuring effort as the company tries to steamline its operations and reduce costs. The company did not officially announced how many were let go, but media reports claim around 80 - 100 employees got canned, each receiving a severance package. The lackluster early sales of Sony’s Playstation 3, in addition to a recent patent settlement that hit the company in the amount of $97 million, have caused Sony to make multiple reorganization moves, including the resignation of Playstation founder Ken Kutaragi.

Just months earlier, over 160 people were fired from Sony Computer Entertainment’s European division. No job cuts were seen or are planned for the company’s Japan offices.

According to Arstechnica, SCEA employees were put through individual interviews yesterday and in the middle of the day announced the firings. The online publication quotes as unnamed source as saying that employees were asked to leave immediately and would need to schedule after-hours time to pick up their belongings.