THQ today revealed that it has let go roughly 100 employees. The company said the layoffs stem from a decision to have the wireless division focus on games for smart phones (like the iPhone) moving forward. Offices in San Diego, the U.K., and Germany will close, while THQ's Universomo studio in Finland will remain open.
"As part of our goal of aligning our business to focus on our most competitive product categories, we have decided to streamline our THQ Wireless operations to focus only on games for high-end handheld devices," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell to employees via email, later posted by VentureBeat. "Given today's market environment, we believe our focus on the high-end handheld market is critical to strengthening our market position and achieving profitability."
"I want to emphasize that closing offices is never an easy decision. However, we are confident that the actions we are taking now will strengthen our ability to drive growth and profitability in the future. I thank you for your continued focus and commitment as we reposition the company and move forward," concluded Farrell.
THQ recently announced a $115.3 million loss for the second quarter of 2008 and cut nearly 20 percent of their staff – roughly 250 people at several studios.
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