Unity says it will ‘likely’ lay off some staff in the next few months

Structural changes are also expected to result in the discontinuation of certain products

Unity appears set to lay off some of its staff in the coming months.

As spotted by The Verge, the company made reference to potential layoffs in its earnings report for Q3 2023.

In the section where it would normally provide guidance for shareholders on what it expects it will do in the next quarter and beyond, Unity instead explained that it wasn’t providing guidance because it was planning structural changes.

“Several weeks ago, we started a comprehensive assessment of our product portfolio to focus on those products that are most valuable to our customers,” it said.

“We are also evaluating the right cost structure that aligns with the more focused portfolio. We are acting quickly and expect to make final decisions over the next few weeks. We expect to start implementing the plan within this quarter and expect to complete all interventions before the end of the first quarter of 2024.

“This will likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint.

“The exact timing of these interventions is difficult to estimate. We are therefore not providing guidance for the fourth quarter or the full year 2023.

“We will provide guidance for 2024 with our fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. At that time, we will also share more details on our operational interventions, which are expected to gradually improve our results.”

The report also opened with an introduction by Unity’s interim CEO and president, James Whitehurst, who noted the need to change the company’s structure.

“We have a significant opportunity to accelerate revenue growth, improve profitability metrics and increase free cash flow generation going forward,” Whitehurst wrote.

“However, we are currently doing too much, we are not achieving the synergies that exist across our portfolio, and we are not executing to our full potential.

“We aim to address these opportunities to emerge as a leaner, more agile, and faster growing company. We will share specifics as plans are finalized over the next few months.”

Unity announced last month that John Riccitiello was stepping down as president, CEO, chairman and board member effective immediately.

His departure came weeks after the company sparked a backlash from the development community by announcing controversial monetisation plans for its popular game development engine, which it partially walked back following the outcry.