EA lays off employees to 'streamline operations'

Electronic Arts has laid off an undisclosed number of employees today, with the company's Montreal-based mobile development studio said to be heavily impacted.

"EA is sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile," a spokesperson for the company told Polygon. "In some cases, this involves reducing team sizes as we evolve into a more efficient organization. These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world."

Rumors of EA Mobile Montreal's closure circulated on Twitter this morning, with others hinting at major cuts at the studio. In February, a round of layoffs impacted EA's Montreal and Los Angeles locations, as well as other "smaller locations." At the time, EA president of labels Frank Gibeau called the layoffs part of a "transition" to next-generation platforms and mobile technology.

EA Mobile Montreal is home to some 300 employees and focuses on development of mobile titles including Tetris and Scrabble.