It's game over for nearly a fifth of Zynga's staff.
The beleaguered games company announced late Wednesday that it is laying off 18% of its staff, or 364 employees in total, in an effort to cut costs by $100 million annually. That percentage seems to be a favorite for the long-suffering company: Zynga also cut 18% of its staff two years ago.
"Over the years we've seen that tighter, more nimble teams can drive faster innovation and deliver more player value," said Mark Pincus, the company's founder and CEO. "As a result, today we announced a cost reduction program to focus, simplify and align us against our most promising opportunities... This was a hard but necessary decision and I believe this plan puts us in the best long term position for success."
Pincus returned to Zynga as CEO last month, replacing former Xbox One head Don Mattrick, with the goal of boosting innovation and regaining footing in social games. Pincus is known for having nine lives in business and he now seems dead-set on ensuring Zynga survives with him.
The layoff announcement was made as part of Zynga's first quarter earnings results. The company posted a net loss of $0.01 per share on revenue of revenue of $183.3 million, beating Wall Street estimates on both counts. That said, revenue was still down 9% from the same quarter a year earlier.
It's a cruel world. Wall Street was a fan of Zynga's earnings and layoff news. The company's stock shot up by 10% in after hours trading following the news.