The9 Confirms Layoff of 300 WoW Employees
Sina Tech, 6/24/09
An executive at online game developer and operator The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) has confirmed the company will lay off some 300 former World of Warcraft employees, including key customer service staff. The company will also transfer its roughly 800 remaining WoW employees to new positions within the company, either in The9's current game operations or new game development teams.
The9 said that the laid off employees will receive substantial severance packages, and the lay offs will also reduce competitive pressures within the workplace.
A source at The9 told Sohu IT that in addition to the 300 layoffs, 400 non-critical WoW staffers will have their salaries reduced by roughly 20%. The source added that in order to retain vital staff from the former WoW operations team, The9 has drawn up a set of retention policies that include sending them into master's degree or MBA programs, transferring them to new game development projects, and even salary increases. Sources at The9 said they were not aware of any such policies.
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