this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2024
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TLDR: Riot is downscaling. The severance package is great but it's another round of layoffs in the industry.

This will also majorly affect Legends of Runeterra. They're putting the game on life support it seems, and will focus on the PvE mode.

They're also shutting down Riot Forge, their collaboration with other studios to make smaller games with their IP.

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[–] [email protected] 128 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (16 children)

Riot is a trash company.

I feel for the employees who lost their jobs.

Its always grating when CEOs say they "take responsibility" but they're not taking a demotion and paycut. No, somehow, the idiots who made the shitty decisions get to keep making them. Apparently that's "responsibility."

[–] [email protected] 58 points 10 months ago

I was laid off from my small warehouse job because the company wasn't making enough money. The next month my boss took his family on an African safari. Eat the rich.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

These layoffs are always for shareholders as share prices go up when the layoffs happen. It's not about cash flow. It's purely about shareholders.

Share prices go up always affects c suite the most. They get better returns on the shares they own and also get large bonuses. Far from take responsibility, a ceo massively profits from layoffs.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I don't think there will ever be any CEO that takes a pay cut over doing layoffs.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago

Satoru Iwata and the Wii U is the single instance I can think of.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

I remember reading in 2020 the CEOs of Toyota and Columbia sportswear both reduced their salary so they wouldn't immediately have to lay people off like most companies were doing.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Iirc the Nintendo cceos did so they wouldn't have to fire people a handful of years ago. Not sure how often that happens though.

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[–] [email protected] 82 points 10 months ago (1 children)

So basically...

  • CEO claims responsibility.
  • Employees face the consequences.

That tracks.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Yeah it's weird how the C-suites never have to personally bear responsibility despite being the one either making these decisions or fostering the environment in which these decisions are made.

How come companies are allowed to fire even one employee before the decision makers are bled of all money they have? Shouldn't the life-ruining start with the ones who are responsible?!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I guess the reasoning is

The company is doing great => the CEO does a great job

Company needs to downsize=> can't afford a change in leadership in these trying times

It gets more complicated when the CEO is also a founder/owner

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I would be happy if they just didn't get their bonuses and the downsizing started with their pays ale before anyone got fired. Of we can't have that, think of their poor third yachts.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I just hope that these companies don't have the gall to complain about a lack of manpower or expertise availability a few years down the line. Because by coordinating all these layoffs, they are currently creating a vacuum in which a lot of professionals in the industry won't have any chance to acquire experience and develop their skills, and many will probably have to change their career trajectory significantly just to ensure their economic well-being. And once they see how greener the grass is outside the videogame industry, let me assure you, they won't be coming back.

If you are not willing to stick with your professionals through your thin, you don't deserve their availability and effort through your thick.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago

don’t have the gall to complain about a lack of manpower or expertise availability a few years down the line.

Don't worry, they will.

Companies aren't like people with friends who hold them accountable for lying.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

these companies don’t have the gall to complain about a lack of manpower or expertise availability a few years down the line

Of course they will. It's all driven by investor money and C-suite bonuses, the rest of managed just bends over and pulls down their pants. If the investors think gaming is hot, everyone will desperately hire. If they are meh on it, everyone shuts down.

You might think this sounds like an unhealthy company model to let investors run everything like that. And you might be right! But we also created a system where the people making these decisions are monetarily involved with the investors, not opposed to them. Hence what hte investors say goes.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I mean, the whole point of layoffs, in any industry, is to get rid of more experienced staff who are higher paid, and replace them with noobs that you can pay less.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I don't take any company seriously that expects their customer base to willingly allow ring zero access.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago

literally a rootkit bruh

Not even the linux wine hackers feel like removing the DRM just to play the game. They'd rather spend that time on an actual needed software like photoshop.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Yep. I'm glad I quit playing LoL a long time ago, when it stopped being fun and everything got typecast to very specific roles. I used to be able to do great in any position there was as teemo. Fun times.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 9 months ago (2 children)

The severance package is great

It always baffles me to think that there is no minimum mandatory severance pay in the good old US of A, but considering 6 months of salary is "great" is saying even more about how low the bar is.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

Yeah, in most of Europe, 6 months would be bare minimum on top of whatever else the employee’s contract buyout requires. But since the good ol US of A is at-will and doesn’t have employment contracts, employers can just let you go without any notice or severance package.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I got far less than that from my severance package last year, I got the minimum mandatory amount, but I'm not in USA.

[–] JackbyDev 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

My friend works here and is not getting their contract renewed. Luckily they knew it wasn't getting renewed but it still sucks. They've loved working there.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

6 months severance isn't half bad though, I hope they can find another job they'll love within that time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If I'm interpreting the CEOs Post post correctly, the severance package is only applicable if your contract gets canceled prematurely or if you are being laid off. If your contract ends and is not renewed, all obligations are fulfilled, so there is no severance package since the contract simply ends. (Timel/Project based contract). I could be wrong though. It would make sense to have project or time-based contracts - these layoffs mainly affect the "permanent employees."

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ah, that would suck then.

By the way, your account is tagged as a bot account which means anyone that has bots hidden won't see your comments. Should probably change that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

Oh, thanks for the information sir! I forgot that I tried that option to see what would happen, now I know. xd

[–] JackbyDev 3 points 9 months ago

Their contract wasn't ended as far as I know and would've been ending in about a month or so anyways.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago

Disappointing to hear they are giving up on runeterra

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

This isn't about shareholders, but it just so happens that the share price always goes up after a round of layoffs :)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

And nothing of value was lost.

Sucks for the employees, though. I feel for them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

My friend got "downscaled" today. Real dick move.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I'm not playing League, I stopped many years ago. But I liked the lore and am sad to see them shut down further collaborations - they made some nice games.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

In the tech industry, I've always enjoyed watching what those laid-off employees end up moving onto. While most find jobs elsewhere, you occasionally see some employees form new startups, or try something different with what they've learned from their big tech job.

I'd love to see a resource that follows up on people that were laid off from X company, and to see what their offshoots are working on themselves, supporting them where possible.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I’ve always enjoyed watching what those laid-off employees end up moving onto.

almost all of the people currently being laid off in tech end up leaving the industry or being unemployed. there are no jobs, and there are massive waves of layoffs everywhere.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Have you got a source on that?

Some industries in tech are hit extremely hard (i.e. recruitment), but as someone that has spent the last year helping those laid off from Amazon to find roles internally and externally, that's definitely not true in software engineering.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

are you trying to suggest that of the tens (hundreds?) of thousands of people laid off in the last year in tech, they all found new jobs super easy?

i'm seeing people be unemployed for 6> months, endlessly interviewing for hundreds of jobs that honestly don't even exist, just listed.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Anecdotally, I'm in IT and had a brutal time finding a new job. Took nearly 250 applications over 6 months to find something, hated it (65-70 hour weeks without breaks), and applied to another hundred before finding something worthwhile. I'm no newbie - I've got over a decade of sysad experience under my belt.

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