You would think any company that let go employees might be struggling a bit financially. That’s not the case with EA. In fact, the publisher’s 2024 fiscal year appears to have been very lucrative since it made over $7 billion in net revenue, with CEO Andrew Wilson himself earning more than $25.6 million.
As spotted by Game Developer, EA revealed this in a recent Proxy Statement for its shareholders. Said statement also broke down how much each of EA’s executives earned in terms of base salaries and bonuses. Altogether, these executives, including Wilson, made over $60 million. This past February, EA had opted to lay off 5% of its total workforce (estimated to be about 670 people), with the only explanation being that it was a result of the company’s decision to move away from developing games based on licensed IPs (although it still has two Marvel games based on Iron Man and Black Panther in the works).
The full statement doesn’t appear to make any mention of the layoffs, though one of Wilson’s listed achievements is that he “oversaw a year of continued employee satisfaction scores above industry benchmarks, with record high talent retention and strong talent attraction.” Additional comments from Wilson himself only highlight how strong EA’s fiscal year has been.
“Our teams are the best in the business, delivering awesome gameplay, innovation, and unmatched authenticity,” wrote Wilson. “We’re proud of our performance in service of our stockholders, employees, players, and communities. Our business remains strong, and I could not be more excited about our future as we bring more amazing games and experiences to more people around the world.”
EA is by no means the only company to have laid off staff. However, there has been a shocking loss of talent within the industry. In the past six months, there have been more layoffs than in all of 2023, which comes in stark contrast to reports like this that talk about how well things are going.
In an executive summary, EA wrote, “During fiscal year 2024, we continued to deliver award-winning games and services to our players and generated strong financial and operating results. Hundreds of millions of players around the world came together and connected through our games, live services and content. We continued our efforts to value diverse teams and to create a healthy, inclusive culture that helps our people do their best work.”
