Nintendo recently held its 73 rd annual meeting of shareholders in order to discuss the company’s plans. Among the many questions that came up, the possibility of employee layoffs through corporate restructuring came to light. In spite of the prevailing mentality regarding layoffs in the games industry, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata replied that although Nintendo has had “its up and downs every fear years,” firing employees only brings “short-term financial results.
“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 around the world,” Iwata explained. “I believe we can become profitable with the current business structure in consideration of exchange rate trends and popularization of our platforms in the future.”
In addition, Iwate commented, presumably in regards to the mass layoffs at large companies such as EA, that he is aware “that some employers publicize their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go.” “But at Nintendo,” he continued, “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.”
Source: Siliconera