Laid off from EA.
EA cut staff at Skate studio Full Circle in February 2026 and across the Battlefield studios in March, and Kotaku reported a third round through support and trust and safety in June, none of them with a published count or package. The take-private closed in August, and EA then filed to end its periodic SEC reporting.
At a glance
What's known about EA severance and layoffs
- Three · 2026 layoff rounds, announced or reported
- Closed August 4, 2026 · Take-private sale
- None · Disclosed counts for 2026 rounds
- Zero · US WARN filings since 2025, our tracker
- Twelve months, per the merger agreement · Severance standard after the close
- About 14,600 · Global headcount, March 2026
- 71 percent, up from 65 in 2023 · Staff located outside the US
- Suspended August 14, 2026 · Periodic SEC reporting
Recent EA layoffs
EA closed its take-private in August 2026 and filed to suspend periodic SEC reporting
EA's sale closed on August 4, 2026, and ten days later the company filed a Form 15 terminating the registration of its common stock and suspending its duty to file periodic reports. Days after the close, GamesRadar, citing Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, reported that EA had told debt investors it would cut $700 million in annual costs, including $170 million in organizational efficiencies, a target given to lenders with no headcount attached. No new round has been announced since the close in the reporting we track.
Previous rounds
EA layoff history
Three rounds of cuts hit EA in 2026 before its ownership changed, two announced by the company and one reported, and not one came with a number. In February, Full Circle, the studio behind Skate, said it was reshaping the studio and that some roles would be impacted. In March, EA cut staff across its four Battlefield studios, DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect and Motive, with a spokesperson describing select changes to better align teams. In June, Kotaku reported cuts across recruitment, customer support, trust and safety and IT, drawn from its own sources and twelve unverified public posts by affected staff, covering remote US roles and the Hyderabad office. EA declined to comment on that one.
The sale closed on August 4, 2026, and EA became a wholly owned subsidiary of a parent formed by a consortium of the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, with eligible shares converting at $210 each. When the deal was announced the year before, EA told employees "There will be no immediate changes to your job, team, or daily work, as a result of this transaction." Days after the close, GamesRadar, citing Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, reported that EA had told debt investors it would cut $700 million in annual costs, including $170 million in organizational efficiencies. No headcount has been attached to that figure.
The merger agreement is where the most specific severance language on this record sits. For a continuing employee whose severance-qualifying termination falls within twelve months of the close, and who would have been entitled to severance under the applicable EA plans as they stood just before it, the agreement sets a floor of severance no less favorable than those plans would have provided, measured with service earned after the close and without regard to a later pay cut. That window runs into early August 2027, and across the same twelve months base pay stays at or above its pre-close level and target bonus opportunities stay at least as favorable. The agreement also says that section creates no third-party beneficiary rights for employees and obliges nobody to keep any particular person employed. It treats the deal as a change in control under EA's benefit plans, and what that does depends on the plan or agreement in question.
EA's older filings put dollar figures on the two company-wide rounds that its announcements left uncounted. The March 2023 plan cut about 6% of the workforce, with an estimated $55 million to $65 million for severance and employee-related costs. The February 2024 plan cut about 5% and estimated $40 million to $55 million, a percentage CNBC turned into roughly 670 jobs against the 13,400 people EA had reported a year earlier. Across the same stretch the workforce grew, from about 13,400 people globally in March 2023 to about 14,600 in March 2026, a rise of roughly 1,200 by arithmetic on the two annual reports, while the share working outside the US went from 65 percent to 71 percent.
The US notice trail stayed thin through all of it. Our tracker holds 9 all-time WARN filings under EA's name and none since the start of 2025, and none of the 2026 rounds came with a site-level count that would account for the gap. The record thins further from here, because EA filed on August 14, 2026 to terminate the registration of its common stock and suspend the periodic reports that carried those severance estimates and headcount lines. That leaves your own paperwork doing the work. Compare your separation offer and your grant documents against the merger terms above, price the restricted cash your unvested RSUs turned into, and work to whatever deadline your own documents actually set. Our WARN filings page carries what your state requires.
Reporting on previous EA layoff rounds
June 2026 · Cuts across recruitment, customer support, trust and safety, and IT, reported from sources and twelve unverified public posts by affected staff, spanning remote US roles and the Hyderabad office. EA declined to comment and published no total
March 2026 · Staff cut across the four Battlefield studios, DICE, Criterion, Ripple Effect and Motive. An EA spokesperson called them select changes to better align teams around what matters most to the community, and disclosed no number
February 2026 · Full Circle, the studio behind Skate, said it was reshaping the studio and that some roles would be impacted. No count accompanied the announcement
2025 · A company-wide round of around 300, roughly 100 of them at Respawn, alongside further BioWare cuts and the shuttering of Cliffhanger Games, per a later reporter's recap of the year
February 2024 · Approximately 5% of the workforce, which CNBC put at about 670 jobs against the 13,400 people EA reported a year earlier. The filing estimated $40 million to $55 million for severance and employee-related costs
March 2023 · Approximately 6% of the workforce under a plan the board approved on March 27, with an estimated $55 million to $65 million for severance and employee-related costs
How EA's layoffs compare to other companies
EA's February 2024 cut landed in a season of them. CNBC counted Sony trimming about 900 PlayStation roles, Microsoft cutting 1,900 across its gaming unit, and Riot Games losing 11 percent of its staff inside a few months. EA's 2023 and 2024 filings each disclosed an estimated range for severance and employee-related costs, and the Form 15 it filed in August 2026 suspended the periodic reports that carried those disclosures.
What to do after being laid off from EA
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. EA's biggest hubs: California, Texas. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what EA's hub states run: California, Texas, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
EA layoff and severance questions
What severance is EA paying in the 2026 layoffs?
EA hasn't published package terms for any 2026 round, and none of the three came with a disclosed count. The closest thing to a benchmark sits in the older filings, where EA estimated $40 million to $55 million for severance and employee-related costs in the February 2024 plan and $55 million to $65 million in the March 2023 one. Those are company-wide estimates for a whole plan rather than a promised schedule, so what you actually receive comes from your own agreement and any deadline it may set.
What happens to my EA stock in the take-private?
At the close on August 4, 2026, each eligible outstanding share converted into the right to $210 in cash, with the filing carving out shares held by the company or the buyer and shares whose holders properly demanded appraisal. Each vested restricted stock unit converted at the same price, and vested options paid the excess of $210 over the exercise price, which came to nothing for anyone underwater. Unvested RSUs became restricted cash awards generally subject to the same terms and conditions as the original grants, other than performance conditions. Get the treatment of each grant in writing before you sign anything.
Why don't EA's layoffs show up in WARN databases?
Our tracker holds 9 all-time filings under EA's name and none since the start of 2025. None of the 2026 rounds came with a site-level count, so nothing in the reporting we track establishes why no filing appears. What the filings do show is where the workforce sits, with the share of staff outside the US rising from 65 percent in March 2023 to 71 percent in March 2026.
Is EA laying off more people now that the buyout has closed?
No new round has been announced since the close in the reporting we track. What has been reported is a cost target. Days after the deal closed, GamesRadar, citing Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, said EA had told debt investors it would cut $700 million in annual costs including $170 million in organizational efficiencies. That's a figure given to lenders rather than an announced layoff, and no headcount has been attached to it.
How long does the merger agreement's severance standard last?
Twelve months from the closing date, which runs it into early August 2027. For a continuing employee whose severance-qualifying termination falls in that window, and who would have been entitled to severance under the applicable EA plans as they stood just before the close, the agreement sets a floor of severance no less favorable than those plans would have provided, measured without regard to a pay cut made after the close. The agreement also says that section creates no third-party beneficiary rights for employees and obliges nobody to keep any particular person employed.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from EA?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. EA's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Texas. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at EA?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at EA?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from EA?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.