Electronic Arts, publishers of Clive Barker’s Undying and Pooh and Tigger’s Hunny Safari, have let employees know that they’re ending full remote working and hiring, and implementing return to office for all employees as part of hybrid work plans, reports IGN.
In-person work results in a “a kinetic energy that fuels creativity, innovation, and connection, often resulting in unexpected breakthroughs that lead to incredible experiences for our players,” said CEO and unholy human-blazer hybrid Andrew Wilson in an email to employees, viewed by IGN. As a player, I do wish these people would stop speaking for me to make their employees’ lives worse
In practical terms, this means that all employees of the company within 30 miles of an EA building will be forced to transition to a hybrid work model with at least three days a week in office. Those outside this radius will be, according to the somewhat ominous wording in an email to employees from president Laura Miele, “considered remote unless their role is designated as On Site or Hybrid”.
IGN chatted to several employees anonymously, who report feeling upset, confused, or unsure about what will happen to their jobs if they couldn’t move within that 30 mile radius. “Existing remote workers would have their ‘exemptions’ to return to office ‘sunset’ sometime in the next 3 to 24 months,” two sources explained to IGN. Childcare, medical conditions, and long commutes were all given as reasons. RTO mandates are sometimes referred to as “quiet layoffs” due to these sorts of issues – at some level, EA must be aware that some of their employees would find it impossible to meet the new requirements.
EA recently laid off around 300 workers, including around 100 at Titanfall studio Respawn. Last year, they laid off 5% of their workforce, close to 670. Andrew Wilson and Laura Miele took home around $40 million between them in 2024. According to one Ebay listing I found, this is enough to buy 3 million second hand copies of Pooh and Tigger’s Hunny Safari – far more copies than anyone would ever need.