Video game developer Unity Software to lay off 600 employees, or 8% of its workforce

Video game developer Unity Software becomes the latest tech company to announce job cuts as the tech layoff trend continues without signs of slowing down. On Tuesday, Unity said it will lay off 600 employees, equivalent to 8% of its workforce, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Tuesday.

“On May 2, 2023, Unity Software Inc. (“Unity” or the “Company”) announced the reduction of approximately 600 employee roles, or 8% of its workforce,” the company said in the SEC filing.

The disclosure comes less than a year after AppLovin offered to buy the gaming software giant in a deal valued at $17.5 billion. Unity said it plans to “restructure specific teams in order to continue to position itself for long-term and profitable growth.”

Unity is one of the several tech companies that have implemented cost-cutting measures in recent months as concerns grow over the global economic slowdown, the possibility of a looming recession, and the impact of generative AI. This week, IBM announced it plans to suspend hiring for approximately 7,800 jobs that will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the coming years. Lyft also laid off 1,072 workers or 26% of its workforce, just a month after the founders stepped down.

Tech giants like Spotify, Google’s Alphabet, and Nvidia have all taken measures to rein in spending. Other companies like Coinbase, Shopify, Netflix, and Twilio have also announced layoffs. In March, Facebook-parent company Meta announced it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go of 11,000 employees, making the social giant the first Big Tech company to announce a second round of mass layoffs.

The global economic downturn that started in the second quarter of 2022 is beginning to have a major impact on tech companies. At least 629 tech companies have let go of 185,136 workers, according to Layoffs.FYI, a site that has been tracking all tech layoffs using data compiled from public reports.

Unity was founded in Denmark in 2004 by David Helgason, Joachim Ante, and Nicholas Francis as Over the Edge Entertainment. The company later changed its name to Unity Technologies in 2007. Unity is the creator of the world’s leading real-time 3D development platform, giving users the most powerful and accessible tools to create, operate, and monetize experiences in the real-time world.