Machinima Cuts Ten Percent of Staff

[BlameTheWizards]

Machinima Cuts Ten Percent of Staff

YouTube video maker lays off employees for second time in 9 months

These are lean times for any business. Unfortunately Machinima employees are facing the brunt of that as the website undergoes its second round of layoffs in less than a year. The YouTube video maker, which has over 9.3 million subscribers to its channel, announced the news via an official statement to Variety.

"In connection with Machinima's growth plan, the company is making an increased commitment to premium programming, its YouTube affiliate network and multiplatform distribution," the statement read. "As a result of an increased need for investment in these areas, Machinima is eliminating positions representing approximately 10% of the company's workforce equating to 22 of 206 employees." Machinima promised new programming to be announced over the next several months which would "advance the next phase of this strategic plan."

Last December, the website saw <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121126-Update-Machinima-Lays-Off-Nearly-10-of-Staff>a similar round of layoffs where 23 of then 200 employees were let go, including editorial manager Billy Shibley. Those layoffs did lead to 15 new positions opening up within the company. In May of 2012, Machinima received $35 million in funding, with Google being one of its leading investors.

We at The Escapist just hope those affected will land on their feet again soon.

Source: Variety via <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-09-18-machinima-lays-off-10-percent-of-workforce>Gameindustry.biz

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[Something Amyss]

Wait, am I reading this right? It reads as "we're growing, so we're firing people." That doesn't sound like the right story here.

 

[Josh123914]

Wait, am I reading this right? It reads as "we're growing, so we're firing people." That doesn't sound like the right story here.

Firing obsolete positions?

Still, at least it isn't like EA going through another 'studio restructuring' like it does every few months, i.e. fire 60% of a studio and then rename them Bioware *insert location of studio here*

 

[Phrozenflame500]

You know, I feel bad about people getting fired, it's always terrible.

But on the other hand, fuck Machinima. Those guys have no standards.

 

[Covarr]

Of course a company that makes a business out of screwing over its partners is going to eventually run into financial trouble and need to compensate by cutting costs (and employees). They can call it growth if they want, but this is an attempt at damage control as more and more video makers leave them.

P.S. Thanks

 

[an annoyed writer]

Sounds like more of my expatriate buddies will join me soon in the post-Machinima world. I can't say that's a good thing, as they were still making some money then. Such a shame.

You know, I feel bad about people getting fired, it's always terrible.

But on the other hand, fuck Machinima. Those guys have no standards.

Also this. Their standards have been dropping ever since Modern Warfare 2 hopped on the scene with egregious amounts of gameplay commentaries, and that hasn't changed. They are not true to their name anymore.

 

[josemlopes]

The stuff I like from Machinima is just Inside Gaming (even though they have changed a lot for the worse, they dont need to have like 3 new videos every day, Im not asking 1 video a week but they could use the free time to work on one video a time) and ETC for the casual movie stuff and giggles.

The Respawn stuff and etc that showed up at the time of COD:MW2 are just so much fluff that there doesnt seem to be a point to it.

 

[Ickorus]

Of course a company that makes a business out of screwing over its partners is going to eventually run into financial trouble and need to compensate by cutting costs (and employees). They can call it growth if they want, but this is an attempt at damage control as more and more video makers leave them.

P.S. Thanks

Did they ever change that godawful contract of theirs, didn't it state that once you signed it you were basically forbidden from making videos unless they told you to and if you didn't like it and left them you still weren't allowed?

I'd be amazed if that shit stood up in court.

 

[Vzzdak]

Based upon how Machinima screwed Ross Scott around (Freeman's Mind), Machinima can go screw themselves.

 

[SadisticFire]

Machinima can go suck a horse cock and break their jaw in the process(They're huge). Seriously, for what they did to their content creators is ridiculous. Practically making them go homeless because they won't respond to their contract that THEY MADE for six or more months. Seriously, Ross Scott had some talent, but they just decided to blow him off for their "LEET COD NO SCOPE GAMEPLAY". What the fuck?

 

[Callate]

On one hand, I'm almost always sorry to hear of people losing their jobs, unless their jobs involve throwing kittens into a chipper-shredder or some such.

On the other hand, the notion that there isn't enough money in making Youtube videos to sustain a company of 200+ people seems painfully, painfully obvious.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

Just tell me they didn't fire the Ten FTW guys, they're pretty much the only thing relating to Machinima I think I have had even the smallest inkling to watch in a while.

 

[Smooth Operator]

By staff they mean their child slave labor or the guys writing extortion letters to indie devs?
Then again those probably don't cost much...

 

[Strazdas]

The only person there i cared about was Freemans Mind creator anyway.