Activision Blizzard's 128 Cork job cuts cost €9m in severance expenses
Blizzard Entertainment Ltd operates a support centre in Cork for other companies in the gaming division and new accounts for Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Ltd show that the job cuts cost €9m in "employee severance expenses" last year.
The directors state that in January 2024 the ultimate parent of the company, Microsoft Corporation, announced decisions to reduce the size of its gaming workforce "to achieve sustainable cost structure".
They state that the impact on Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Limited was a decrease in headcount of 128.
The directors state that "the headcount reduction has no impact on the nature of the company's operations, or on the ability of the company to continue as a going concern".
The accounts show that the company recorded a pre-tax profit of €3.54m as revenues almost doubled from €16.9m to €32.43m.
The jump in revenues is skewed as the reporting period was for a 18 month period to the end of June last compared to a prior 12 month period.
The increase in pre-tax profits of €3.54m follows pre-tax profits of €1.5m in the prior 12 months.
The directors state that they are satisfied with the performance of the company and that the company continues to develop the portfolio of services provided to other group companies.
The company changed its reporting period in order to be in line with owner Microsoft which in October 2023 took over the Call of Duty maker, Activision Blizzard, in a deal worth $75.4 billion, marking the largest ever sale in the gaming industry.
The deal closed in late 2023 after competition authorities in the UK approved it.
Only last month, a federal appeals court in the US rejected a legal challenge by the US Federal Trade Commission to Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard.
Staff costs for the 18 month period totalled €28.17m that included the restructuring costs of €9.07m. Salary costs totalled €16.5m and share based payments amounted to €571,651.
The directors state that the company "continues to develop the portfolio of services provided to other group companies".
They state that "as a management, administration and technical support centre, the directors are conscious of the importance of providing superior quality service to the company's customers".
Shareholder funds at the company totalled €20.1m, which included accumulated profits of €18.76m.
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