New WotC Layoffs?

I have been unable to verify any of this, so consider this no more than a "rumour report". However I'm hearing that layoffs have occurred at WotC this week, and that one of the victims is art director Mark Painter. Again, all rumour at this point.

 

[Dausuul]

The sad fact is that for a long time, D&D was massively overstaffed. TSR notoriously killed itself by producing too much product and failing to control costs; in the process, they staffed-up far beyond what was healthy. Throughout 3E and much of 4E, Wizards tried to justify having so many people for such a niche product. With 5E, Wizards finally bit the bullet and cut back to a sustainable level.

But sustainability requires awareness of the brand's life cycle, which historically has been "big burst of revenue when a new edition is released, followed by years of dwindling returns from supplements." Mike Mearls commented that years 3-5 would be the big challenge for 5th Edition. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trimming staff a bit further in anticipation of those lean years. Once they confirm that their business model can keep working after the shine wears off the new edition, they may start adding people, albeit slowly.

 

[TwoSix]

But sustainability requires awareness of the brand's life cycle, which historically has been "big burst of revenue when a new edition is released, followed by years of dwindling returns from supplements." Mike Mearls commented that years 3-5 would be the big challenge for 5th Edition. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trimming staff a bit further in anticipation of those lean years. Once they confirm that their business model can keep working after the shine wears off the new edition, they may start adding people, albeit slowly.

I thought they were already trimmed down pretty far. I'm anticipating the next sourcebook to be authored by Mike Mearls and a Roomba.

 

[justinj3x3]

I thought they were already trimmed down pretty far. I'm anticipating the next sourcebook to be authored by Mike Mearls and a Roomba.

We are going to get sourcebooks!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Steven Winter]

Mark Painter is/was one of just three TSR veterans still working at Wizards. I haven't heard independent confirmation of this layoff rumor yet, but I've heard enough to believe that it's probably true. All of the remaining TSR vets (including Mark) work on graphics, and none of them works directly on tabletop D&D, AFAIK.

I doubt this was a retirement, since Mark is younger than me and I'm not old enough to retire yet. A few years ago, Hasbro offered 'early retirement buyouts' to long-time employees who were over 55 (IIRC). This was a clear attempt to get people at the top of the pay scale off the books so they could be replaced with people at the bottom of the scale -- but that said, it was transparent and voluntary, and the deal was attractive enough that two TSR transplants accepted the offer. The Damocles' sword hanging over it, of course, was the knowledge that Wizards had a history of culling high earners in annual layoffs, and the severance package for a layoff was much less than the buyout. The buyout check looks a lot more attractive when the other hand is pointing an invisible knife at your guts.

Wizards is no more evil or uncaring about its employees than most other corporations of its size. Sadly, there was a time when the company was much better than that, but that's not the case anymore.

Steve

 

[Shasarak]

First, I tend to wear rose-colored glasses, so there's that.

Does no one realize how much time it actually takes to outsource/delegate/mamage a product? Let alone a product line? Let alone a creative product line. Any of these "outsourced" companies and their representatives can tell you the tremendous amount of back-and-forth, the meetings, the emails, the rewrite-from-scratch, the time investment on the Mearls&Co side.

The problem is,as I see it, you do not have your designers "designing" you have them managing other people and is this the best use of their talent?

Also, isn't this kind of what we wanted?

No. Not any kind of what I wanted.

 

[Umbran]

This "cynical extreme" you've cooked up to oppose appears to be a scarecrow stuffed with pure fantasy.

Talking about reorgs as "ominous corporate design", when we don't even know if the reorg in question ended with anyone we care about getting the axe - doesn't seem like pure fantasy to me. I *FEEL* that is a cynical extreme. Want to convince me otherwise?

Trying to convince someone that their feelings are wrong, however, is merely tilting at windmills.

Trying to convince folks (including those beyond the speaker) that the position is not well founded, and a knee jerk reaction we perhaps should be avoiding? Not so much.

 

[Mark CMG]

Talking about reorgs as "ominous corporate design", when we don't even know if the reorg in question ended with anyone we care about getting the axe

Well said! The ones we don't know or like probably deserve it. Their spouses might even already have a job (job-hoarding is despicable!) and their kids won't need educations for the coming service-based-only economy anyway. Once again, you've summed up your position nicely.

 

[Mistwell]

I thought they were already trimmed down pretty far. I'm anticipating the next sourcebook to be authored by Mike Mearls and a Roomba.

Actually they've been INCREASING the D&D team, not decreasing it. They are up to 17, or 18, people working in the D&D department, depending on whether Mark Painter was in fact laid off or not (still unverified). It was as low as 13 I believe.

 

[TwoSix]

Actually they've been INCREASING the D&D team, not decreasing it. They are up to 17, or 18, people working in the D&D department, depending on whether Mark Painter was in fact laid off or not (still unverified). It was as low as 13 I believe.

The Roomba IS a cheap and well motivated employee.

 

[justinj3x3]

Actually they've been INCREASING the D&D team, not decreasing it. They are up to 17, or 18, people working in the D&D department, depending on whether Mark Painter was in fact laid off or not (still unverified). It was as low as 13 I believe.

17 or 18 people?? You would think they could put out a product since the core books and DM screen. Or maybe the conversion guidelines while I'm at it.