Unity to lay off 600 employees, or 8% of its workforce

Unity Software announced plans to cut about 600 jobs, or 8% of its workforce, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.  

The video game software developer said it will restructure “specific teams” and that the layoffs will help the company position itself for “long-term and profitable growth.” A company spokesperson declined to provide further details.

Shares of the company were up less than 1% in premarket trading Wednesday. Unity’s stock is down 11% year to date, while the NASDAQ is up 15% for the same period. 

Founded in 2004, Unity has become a major player in game creation over the past decade by giving developers the tools to create 3D titles for phones, consoles and the web without having to code for each platform. 

Unity went public in 2020 pricing shares at $52 apiece, initially valuing the company at $13.7 billion. Shares climbed to more than $200 in 2021. The stock is trading at about $25 as of Wednesday.

The company’s job cuts are the third and largest round of layoffs the company has conducted in recent months. Unity eliminated 284 jobs in January and around 225 jobs in June of last year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. 

Unity is one of the dozens of tech companies that have carried out significant workforce reductions in recent months as concerns grow over a slowing economy and the possibility of a looming recession. In January, Google revealed plans to lay off more than 12,000 workers, Microsoft disclosed plans to cut 10,000 employees and Salesforce announced plans to lay off 7,000 workers.