Report: Sega Lays Off 30 Staff In San Francisco

According to new online reports, Japanese-headquartered Sonic Unleashed publisher Sega has laid off around 30 staff members from its San Francisco-based North American headquarters. Consumer site IGN has reported the layoff, indicating that Sega of America's offices, which include both publishing and development personnel, were affected. A former Sega staff member also posted a personal Facebook update, seen by Gamasutra, wishing affected Sega of America employees the best as they move "onward" -- a clear reference to the sort of employment troubles that have been hitting the industry recently. Recently, a rash of layoffs have hit the game business, some connected to the global economic slowdown -- including cuts at Eidos studio Crystal Dynamics, the closure of independent UK developer Free Radical, layoffs at Electronic Arts in both studios and corporate areas, and beleaguered publisher Midway's internal development cuts, among others. It's currently unknown which side of the business -- development or publishing -- the cuts came from, and Gamasutra was unable to contact any Sega of America spokespeople for comment as of press time.