Layoffs in the gaming industry are becoming scarily common, something that seems to completely contradict the booming growth this community has seen through most recent years. Just one week after the Game Developer’s Conference, CEO of Electronic Arts, Andrew Wilson, released a statement that though is heartbreaking – shows a level of empathy that was glaringly lacking from Activision’s wave of layoffs earlier this year.

“Today we took some important steps as a company to address our challenges and prepare for the opportunities ahead,” said the CEO in a recent statement. “As we look across a changing world around us, it’s clear that we must change with it.  We’re making deliberate moves to better deliver on our commitments, refine our organization and meet the needs of our players.”

This is a difficult day.  The changes we’re making today will impact about 350 roles in our 9,000-person company.  These are important but very hard decisions, and we do not take them lightly. We are friends and colleagues at EA, we appreciate and value everyone’s contributions, and we are doing everything we can to ensure we are looking after our people to help them through this period to find their next opportunity. This is our top priority.”

The layoffs are reportedly targeting the marketing and publishing side of the mega company, as well as a reduction in presence in both Japan and Russia. Wilson added, ” In addition to organizational changes, we are deeply focused on increasing quality in our games and services.  Great games will continue to be at the core of everything we do, and we are thinking differently about how to amaze and inspire our players. ”

EA is one of the biggest publishers in the industry to date, with the layoffs affecting 350 of the 9,000 employees under that umbrella. Though one thing that does stick out about how EA is handling it, is that they aren’t brushing it under the rug. They are acknowledging those affected, which is something that several major game companies have failed to do in the past year alone.

If you, or someone you know, is affected by the latest news, there are resources out there for weathering this particular storm. A growing document is going viral, seen here, that has tons of game developer job openings specifically to help those that have suddenly found themselves in a transitional position.