Iwata: No Layoffs at Nintendo

by William D'Angelo, posted on 08 July 2013 / 2,918 Views

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has stated that laying off staff may lower overheads, but it will affect morale. He feels the fear of being laid off will affect the ability of employees to develop games that impress people.

"If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results employee morale will decrease and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world," Iwata told investors.

"Regarding why we have not reduced the number of the personnel, it is true that our business has its ups and downs every few years," Iwata added, "and of course, our ideal situation is to make a profit even in the low periods, return these profits to investors and maintain a high share price."

"We should of course cut unnecessary costs and pursue efficient business operations," Iwata continued. "I also know that some employers publicize their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go, but at Nintendo, employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo’s business in the long run."

"Our current policy is to achieve favourable results by continuously cutting unnecessary expenses and increasing business efficiency," concluded Iwata.


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6 Comments

Nem
Nem (on 08 July 2013)

And people keep saying Iwata is a bad CEO. Really?! I dont think so.

  • +15
Hydrocrush
Hydrocrush (on 08 July 2013)

nintendo keeps people working while all the other companys go bankrupt and lay people off its obvious nintendo is winning

  • +15
DanneSandin
DanneSandin (on 08 July 2013)

That's Nintendo doing things right. NintenDO.

  • +12
Mandalore76
Mandalore76 (on 08 July 2013)

It's refreshing to see a company where the executives take paycuts to keep the lower wage employees working during loss periods. A couple of years ago, I lost my full-time job of 13 years during a lay-off while the CEO hired 5 new executive vice presidents with the money the company got from a bankruptcy loan.

  • +11
ganoncrotch
ganoncrotch (on 08 July 2013)

disgusting when shit like that happens.

  • +7
Egann
Egann (on 10 July 2013)

It's like there are cuthroats everywhere, and then towering high above them, there's Nintendo. A successful corporation built on sterling business ethics. This is the second time they've set the bar for the corporate world.

  • +1
Viper1
Viper1 (on 08 July 2013)

Of course they aren't going to lay anyone off. They just admitted they didn't have enough people moving onto the Wii U so why in the hell would anyone be expecting them to reduce their headcount?

  • -2
sethnintendo
sethnintendo (on 08 July 2013)

Pachter might think layoffs would be a smart business move.

  • +5
ListerOfSmeg
ListerOfSmeg (on 08 July 2013)

Because Sony had to do it so Nintendo must be. Its just a part of the mentality of some people that Nintendo is broke and will go 3rd party soon. Truth is It was Sony selling off assets left and right and closing studios last gen. I hope the trend continues til the no longer are a part of gaming and take their embarrassing fan base with them

  • +6