Electronic Arts cuts support staff as $55 bn Saudi-backed sale looms

Electronic Arts (EA) has announced another round of layoffs affecting its recruitment, customer‑support, trust‑and‑safety and IT teams. The cuts impact remote workers in the United States and longtime staff at the Hyderabad office in India; the exact headcount has not been disclosed.

An internal email to the Fan Care team said employees must "adapt how we work to better meet fans' changing needs" and noted that some roles will be changed, new roles created, and work shifted to other teams, locations or service partners.

This is the third wave of layoffs in 2026, following earlier reductions in Battlefield development studios and the Full Circle Skate team. The moves come as EA prepares for a proposed $55 billion acquisition by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, with partners Silver Lake and Affinity Partners. The deal would give the fund a majority stake and add roughly $20 billion of debt, with EU antitrust clearance expected by late July 2026.

The layoffs are framed as cost‑cutting ahead of the leveraged buyout, targeting corporate and support functions rather than core game‑development teams.