Hasbro Hit With Layoffs, Wizards of the Coast Impacted

Hasbro has announced they had laid off "less than 100" employees, with Wizards of the Coast and the Dungeons & Dragons team impacted as a result. Hasbro announced the "operational streamlining" of their team ahead of their third quarter earnings report, along with several organizational changes impacting oversight of different business lines. as part of these business realignments, Chief Marketing Officer Jason Bunge will now oversee Wizards of the Coast and digital marketing moving forward.

EN World has learned that at least four people at Wizards of the Coast were laid off as part of these changes. One of the four is Dixon Dubow, who publicly announced that he was laid off on Twitter yesterday. Dubow was the creator relations manager for Dungeons & Dragons and was a critical part of helping to repair D&D's image after the 2023 OGL scandal. Dubow was a primary point of contact for content creators who worked with the D&D brand.

Hasbro previously laid off a number of Wizards of the Coast employees as part of a wider employee reduction line last year. Numerous employees from various Wizards teams were either laid off or retired as part of a 20% reduction in the overall Hasbro workforce.

Hasbro also announced year to date operating profits of $630 million during their quarterly earnings report, with a $98 million dividend payout to shareholders.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Do you mean actual capitalism with free markets, freedom of exchange, and capital risk, or do you mean the unholy alliance between corporates and states as preferred ab initio by the USA?

Because it's really easy to nail at least three different systems that claim to be capitalist, and are thought to be capitalist, but really are not....

 

[Bushviper]

Do you mean actual capitalism with free markets, freedom of exchange, and capital risk, or do you mean the unholy alliance between corporates and states as preferred ab initio by the USA?

Because it's really easy to nail at least three different systems that claim to be capitalist, and are thought to be capitalist, but really are not....

Personally, I'm referring to "actual capitalism."

I think it's obvious that my comment about bad actors includes the corporate cronies.

It's probably not worth asking given the fact that site is, almost entirely, a captured echo chamber, but what's a better alternative to capitalism?

 

[CleverNickName]

Best economic system in the history of the world.

Best economic system in the world so far.

The history of the world isn't over yet, but... well, let's just say that lots of folks are looking at capitalism and tapping their wristwatches. I'm curious to see what replaces it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

You really think the Sideshow Bob of TT RPG companies is going to avoid the rakes? More likely WotC is looking for a field of rakes to actively run into!

I hope so; I really don't want to repeat Sideshow Bob GIFs.

 

[Umbran]

Do you mean actual capitalism with free markets, freedom of exchange, and capital risk, or do you mean the unholy alliance between corporates and states as preferred ab initio by the USA?

It's probably not worth asking given the fact that site is, almost entirely, a captured echo chamber, but what's a better alternative to capitalism?

Mod Note:
Folks,

It is time for you to remember that this site has a "no real-world politics" rule. While some discussion of economics is allowed, this debate is outside the scope of these boards.

 

[Morrus]

It's probably not worth asking given the fact that site is, almost entirely, a captured echo chamber, but what's a better alternative to capitalism?

New account. Political avatar. Veiled references to 'modern audiences'. Insults directed at the whole community. Using laughing emojis at moderator posts. Dogwhistles aplenty. I don't think this is the place for you. I hope you find somewhere more to your liking.

 

[amethal]

None. Zero. We get an offer letter, which typically includes salary, start date, and job title, but that isn't a contract. There's no promise of raises or even an end date on the offer letter. In the United States, my employer is free to change my salary at any time. They can't just short me on a check one week, but they could tell me, "At the beginning of the new pay period, your salary is dropping by 10%." Practically speaking, employers really don't lower pay like this on a regular basis because it's a good way to lose employees. But here in the U.S., an employer can change your work hours, your work location, your hours work, they can change your job duties, or they can end employment at any time. This might not apply to the 10% of American workers who are unionized depending on what agreement the union made with the company.

Apparently, the USA does have some employment contracts, just they are usually only for "professionals and highly skilled employees".

Where I live, my employer can change my work hours, my work location and my job duties (within reason) but that's because it's set out in my contract of employment.

It also sets out things like confidentiality, non-competition (so I can't work for our competitors in my spare time) and the minimum notice period I have to give if I want to leave. These are all things my employer needs to have in place in order to run their business.

There are plenty of firms in the USA that do what my employer does, and presumably they need the same things too, but if they don't have contracts of employment I don't see how they get them.

 

[Hussar]

Best economic system in the history of the world.

However, like any system, there will always be those that are bad actors and abuse things for their own benefit.

There are a lot of reasons for WotCs economic turbulence, but their pandering to a non-existent audience for the last few years has damaged their brand immensely and rather than speak up only to be shouted down by an angry mob, most people just stop buying the garbage.

There are a lot of 3rd party alternatives that produce similar, but exponentially better, content.

Really. Damaged the brand immensely? They’ve just sold out the largest print run in the history of gaming and are into their second print run in under three months.

Man I wish I could damage my brand immensely like that.

 

[CleverNickName]

Really. Damaged the brand immensely? They’ve just sold out the largest print run in the history of gaming and are into their second print run in under three months.

Man I wish I could damage my brand immensely like that.

If they repeat it enough, it'll become accepted as truth. Isn't that how it works?

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Really. Damaged the brand immensely? They’ve just sold out the largest print run in the history of gaming and are into their second print run in under three months.

Man I wish I could damage my brand immensely like that.

You're responding to someone who is no longer on the site in case you weren't aware...