WotC Layoffs - Rob Heinsoo, Logan Bonner, and Chris Sims

[The Little Raven]

I can probably be forgiven for feeling that WotC's attitude toward their employees is somewhat cavalier.

It appears that this began back in the 1990s, from what I can gather from various sources, such as the Death of the Minotaur article on Salon.com. That's when WotC started its big push for brand management (Disney was their idol in that regard) and brought in consultants all the time to "improve" things.

 

[Holy Bovine]

HasbroWotC fully deserves greater scrutiny of its hiring and firing than smaller publishers. It dominates the RPG industry, publishes the hobby's flagship game and, as others have noted, is riding the success of its newest product line.

If a tiny publisher with half a dozen employees sacks someone, it's most likely in order to stay viable. HasbroWotC doesn't have that excuse , and regular Christmas lay-offs look like outright bastardry. If it's not, an explanation should be forthcoming to customers.

So why, exactly, can't WotC layoff people again? They owe something to the customers? I really can't wrap my head around this. Small companies can let people go to stay viable but larger ones can't? Are large companies immune to recessions? What a bizarre double standard.

 

[Snoweel]

So why, exactly, can't WotC layoff people again? They owe something to the customers? I really can't wrap my head around this. Small companies can let people go to stay viable but larger ones can't? Are large companies immune to recessions? What a bizarre double standard.

Ridiculous isn't it?

I don't think people realise that these "CORPORATIONS" are the only entities that will provide for us in our retirements, now that pensions are a thing of the past.

I mean, even just staying viable isn't enough. If the value of a company doesn't grow faster than inflation then I'm better off hiding my savings under my mattress and hoping it's enough to pay the bills when I'm too old to work.

And if some 'artists' have to get a real job (as opposed to the dream job they're currently in) and start doing their hobby for free like the rest of us then I'm ok with that too.

I'd rather have some dignity in retirement and like it or not, our retirement plans are tied up in publicly traded companies.

 

[Jack99]

Working for the government has its own drawbacks as well. For all the pitfalls in the corporate world, I'd have elective surgery before working for a government agency again.

Did they screw up your last boob-job or what?

 

[delericho]

So why, exactly, can't WotC layoff people again? They owe something to the customers? I really can't wrap my head around this. Small companies can let people go to stay viable but larger ones can't? Are large companies immune to recessions? What a bizarre double standard.

WotC have a set of layoffs at this time almost every year, recession or no. This suggests that it's either a matter of policy for them to clear out a bunch of people annually, or they are so badly managed that they have to do so every year just to stay viable. Neither is a good thing.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

WotC have a set of layoffs at this time almost every year, recession or no. This suggests that it's either a matter of policy for them to clear out a bunch of people annually, or they are so badly managed that they have to do so every year just to stay viable. Neither is a good thing.

Why does it have to be bad management if they do it this way? Maybe they found it the most cost-effective way to deal with "spikes" in their business - there are times each year where they need to do more work (maybe for preparing a new major release like D&D 4 itself, or their newest set of core rules), and their are times where they do not.

Unless of course it is bad management to have something like "big releases" each year.

 

[wedgeski]

WotC have a set of layoffs at this time almost every year, recession or no. This suggests that it's either a matter of policy for them to clear out a bunch of people annually, or they are so badly managed that they have to do so every year just to stay viable. Neither is a good thing.

Another possibility to consider is that this is the policy which has kept the D&D business viable this long. I seem to recall an insider (Monte Cook?) blogging or posting at some point that senior designers were often let go when the salary they started commanding outweighed what WotC saw as their value to the product.

Now I'm neither agreeing nor disagreeing with this (okay, actually, I disagree strongly with this, but I'm not running the business), but we have to consider the possibility that keeping designers of Reynolds, Cook, and Tweet's pedigree on-board forever might squeeze the margins of an already niche market to breaking point.

 

[delericho]

Why does it have to be bad management if they do it this way?

It was an either/or.

If it is their policy to lay off employees every year before Christmas, then that's not bad management as such, just a rather sucky policy.

If, however, they are forced to lay off employees every year before Christmas in order to remain viable, then that is a sign of bad management.

 

[evilref]

Ridiculous isn't it?


And if some 'artists' have to get a real job (as opposed to the dream job they're currently in) and start doing their hobby for free like the rest of us then I'm ok with that too.

This has to be a very badly thought out troll...surely?

I.... yeah, not worth going into the many ways this is wrong and insulting.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

This has to be a very badly thought out troll...surely?

I.... yeah, not worth going into the many ways this is wrong and insulting.

There is a report button for when you really believe it could be a troll.
And there is a quote button if you want to discuss the content of the post.

Better not to mix these things.