I follow along the European Dev Digest as well as the US one, so the current kerfuffle at NC Brighton caught my eye.
NCsoft Europe cuts 70 jobs at Brighton office – Massively
Official details on the NCsoft Europe layoffs – Massively
With the official word from NCsoft being:
In order to solidify and streamline company operations across all NCsoft West territories, we are implementing some structural changes this week which will impact 70 to 90 employees. We are working with these employees to determine the best fit for approximately 80 alternate positions within the company.
The European office is transitioning to have a stronger focus in marketing and sales, with many of the existing disciplines being consolidated in our studios on the US West Coast and our headquarters in Seattle. Additionally, we are transitioning to an embedded quality assurance (QA) model in which the QA staff works in our studios directly with the development teams, providing support throughout the entire development process.
This finalizes the NCsoft West reorganization plan which began last September, and the resulting structure will better support the company’s direction.
The current senior customer rep for Europe, Ghost Raptor, is leaving (not formally booted, but unwilling to relocate to the US). Avatea is the new CSR, and will be moving to NCNC. That’s all led to speculation that the US and European boards might merge.
It can’t be seen as particularly good news by any means, though how bad it actually is remains hotly debated (lots of cries of “DOOOOM!” and “I hate you!” in various spots).