The global economy is affected and esports are no less, with several brands cutting their sponsorships in the sector.
This week we have had one of those news that we don’t like to give. Moreover, surprising, because although we know that the sector is going through economic difficulties (like many other sectors in general), we did not expect it from an entity that seemed to go “like a shot”. 100 Thieves, has dismissed a considerable part of its workforce in various departments to reduce costs.
We say that we are surprised coming from 100 Thieves because we are talking about one of the esports organizations with more sponsorships, more awards and according to several reports, the second most valuable esports organization in the world?
Not even that has prevented layoffs, specifically announced last January 10. These layoffs also occur in several departments: sales, marketing, content and human resources, totaling approximately 30 employees, according to the source of the news, Jacob Wolf.
The club’s LinkedIn page estimates that approximately 200 employees work in the organization, which means that the loss of about 30 people is a sizable portion of its overall workforce, ranging from 14 to 17% of the total workforce.
In addition, it is clear that a decision has been made to lighten the wage bill, as among the cuts are several members of the senior staff: director of personnel Amber Fonts, director of production operations Alex Salamunovich, director of facilities Rowena Dy, vice president of account management and integrated marketing Katy Chapel, director of talent Bailey Heidhues, director of production Frank Door, and director of partnerships Hillary Gilmore. Chief revenue officer Matty Lee announced that he was also being laid off in a LinkedIn post, and company president and COO John Robinson confirmed that a new CRO would start the next day in a Reddit comment on the layoffs.
In Robinson’s Reddit post above, he explained the reasoning behind the layoffs and stated, “We are in a challenging economic climate and, like all sports (and eSports) organizations, sponsorships are an important part of our business.” He added that the company’s energy drink and hardware brands, Juvee and Higround, are “healthy and growing,” but the team’s partnerships remain the “largest source of revenue” covering e-sports and content costs.