Namco Bandai hacks 630 staff amid fiscal nosedive

by Stevie Smith - Feb 2 2010, 18:20

Clear fourth-quarter profits posted by the likes of Intel and AMD may suggest the tech industry is gradually edging out of recession, but not every business is enjoying the fruits of improved turnover as the end of the current fiscal year looms (March 31).

Specifically, the nine months leading up to December 31 of 2009 were fairly dour for videogame and toy maker Namco Bandai, which suffered losses of approximately $129 million USD – a significant year-on-year plunge when compared to profits of approximately $99.5 million USD during the same period in 2008.

 “In the Game Contents business in particular, sales fell below projections given weak market conditions for most of major home game software titles except Tekken 6, the largest title released in the current fiscal year, leading to weak results for the segment,” outlined the company in an official statement.

As a result, Namco Bandai’s initially robust fiscal profit projection of around $94 million USD has been adjusted in preparation of full year losses totalling some $342 million USD.

Despite having avoided swinging the scythe of unemployment through its ranks during 2009, Namco Bandai has indicated that current financial circumstances require that it implement a “group restart plan,” which will lead to the loss of around 630 workers from its global staff of 7,000.

The company hopes its restructuring plan will help it trim approximately $40 million USD from its expenditure during the next fiscal year (ending March 31, 2011).

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