Axios is reporting that Sony is in the process of laying off 90 employees in its North American sales and marketing divisions. The impacted employees are part of several retail-oriented teams, including both a “merchandiser” team that sent reps out to different retail outlets, and associated retail marketing employees.
Employees were apparently told that the cuts were not being made as a result of any financial troubles (PlayStation’s business is doing quite well at the moment), but apparently were part of a “global transformation” of Sony PlayStation’s sales and business operations.
De-emphasizing retail sales would make some business sense in a world where retail space is rapidly re-orienting itself, both due to the improvements in digital and online distribution and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, business savviness can still lead to bad days for real people. One laid-off worker told Axios they were “disappointed” that Sony didn’t tell their department about the cuts sooner, in order to find employees alternate roles.
Sony PlayStation’s digital shift was also heralded this week by an expansion to PlayStation Plus to include a a subscription-focused offering.