Zynga announced today that it is laying off 314 workers and it looks like the company is shutting down its Seattle office in the process.
A company spokesperson wouldn’t offer any specific details past what Zynga’s press release noted, which was a 15-percent reduction in workforce that was a “global reduction impacting multiple locations.”
However, a source told GeekWire that Zynga’s Seattle engineering outpost is closing, and a quick look at the social media stream indicates the same:
Goodbye drinks with my Zynga Seattle brothers and sisters… :( (@ The LODGE Sports Grille – STADIUM) http://t.co/OVGoOdktPH
— Cheryl (@CherSeattle) January 30, 2014
Sending my thoughts to my former colleagues at Zynga Seattle, which is closing today.
— Pat Hallenbeck (@Kemper525) January 31, 2014
#Zynga #seattle is closing. Good luck everyone
— Richard Wifall (@iNikkor) January 30, 2014
https://twitter.com/autumnxtian/status/429056651392348161
Wow- I just heard #Zynga Seattle closed! :-( Hang in there guys… I was at Zynga LA when it closed last year, but ended up in a good place.
— Junkyard Sam (@JunkyardSam) January 30, 2014
Zynga first set up shop in Seattle back in March 2011, moving 35 people into the Washington Shoe Building in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood.
Employees in Seattle largely survived Zynga’s last big layoff announcement this past June, but now it appears that everyone working at the Seattle office will be without a job. The company still has two job listings online for two positions in Seattle.
San Francisco-based Zynga, now led by former Microsoft Xbox vet Don Mattrick, has been trimming its workforce for the past year or so as it struggles to remain competitive in the gaming industry. But despite slashing 15 percent of employees today, it also announced a $527 million acquisition of mobile game-maker NaturalMotion that will add 260 workers.
After today’s news, Zynga’s stock shot up in after hours trading to more than 17 percent. We’ll update this story as we hear more official news from the company.
Update, 12:10 p.m. Jan. 31 — A Zynga spokesperson confirmed with us today that the Seattle office has indeed been shut down. The company would not disclose how many employees were let go as a result.