3% Of Hasbro's Workforce Laid Off

In recent weeks, WotC's Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford both left the company--they have both now joined Critical Role's Darrington Press. Dungeons & Dragons VP Jess Lanzillo also announced her departure this week, and Todd Kenreck revealed that he had been laid off.

While this is a mix of voluntary departures and lay-offs, it seems that these folks are not alone. 3% of Hasbro's global workforce has been laid off, according to the Wall Street Journal. That amounts to about 150 of its 5,000-strong staff.

In April, Hasbro warned that the current US tariffs would lead to layoffs.

In 2023, Hasbro cut nearly 2,000 staff, including Mike Mearls and in 2024 let go "less than 100" employees at WotC. Earlier this year, 90% of D&D's Project Sigil team was laid off, including Andy Collins.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The dystopia we are entering will be amazing. And non of the fun cyberpunk parts just all the death in the streets and massive poverty.

The bed we made.

People might say we are moving into a dystopia, but I'd still rather live in the dystopia of today and tomorrow than the illness-infected 1800s or any part of the globe during the Second World War.

Because we never experienced the world that our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in, we don't really ever realize how much better we actually have it.

 

[Morrus]

People might say we are moving into a dystopia, but I'd still rather live in the dystopia of today and tomorrow than the illness-infected 1800s or any part of the globe during the Second World War.

Because we never experienced the world that our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in, we don't really ever realize how much better we actually have it.

To clarify— today where you are. Because in many parts of the world they don’t have it so much better.

 

[DEFCON 1]

To clarify— today where you are. Because in many parts of the world they don’t have it so much better.

Well of course. But I was referencing the comment that implied that due to people being laid off in America that we were heading to a dystopia.

But then again... if things are bad in other parts of the globe compared to America... those places are still better now than they were during First and Second World Wars or during the 19th/18th/17th centuries. I cannot think of any single place on Earth where things have gotten worse over the last 200 years.

 

[Clint_L]

Well of course. But I was referencing the comment that implied that due to people being laid off in America that we were heading to a dystopia.

But then again... if things are bad in other parts of the globe compared to America... those places are still better now than they were during First and Second World Wars or during the 19th/18th/17th centuries. I cannot think of any single place on Earth where things have gotten worse over the last 200 years.

Seriously? There are entire nations of people who have been wiped out in that time, many of them right here in North America.

 

[TwoSix]

Seriously? There are entire nations of people who have been wiped out in that time, many of them right here in North America.

Pretty sure @DEFCON 1's post was about humanity in the aggregate, not specific populations.

I mean, everyone around in 1825 is worse off in 2025 because they're all dead.

 

[Zaukrie]

Yeah, HASBRO can be blamed for a lot, but everyone knew layoffs for companies like HASBRO would come fast and furious after tariffs. Smaller companies have already done that, or gone out of business completely by now.

Four toy stores in Portland Oregon have already closed this year.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Because we never experienced the world that our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in, we don't really ever realize how much better we actually have it.

I experienced the world of 30 years ago though, and it was a million times better than the world we have today.

 

[Jd Smith1]

To clarify— today where you are. Because in many parts of the world they don’t have it so much better.

Odds are, they never will. The core reasons their situation was bad in, say, 1970, are still true, and often worse, today. At least during the Cold War they could get aid based on their strategic positioning, but that's long gone.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I cannot think of any single place on Earth where things have gotten worse over the last 200 years.

I can. For a large part of the world, particularly in 3rd world countries, their standard of living hasn't changed much in the past century--they still don't have access to "modern" medicine or food or services. Only now, they have to also deal with the effects of climate change. We know the most affected areas of climate change are also 3rd world and underdeveloped countries. I would argue they do in fact have it worse now.