GameStop and Game Informer are undergoing massive personnel changes. The company’s chief financial officer has resigned just prior to a round of massive layoffs at both the game retailer and the gaming editorial outlet.
Current CEO Matt Furlong told staff that the layoffs were made to “achieve sustained profitability” after roughly 18 months of investing heavily in “personnel, technology, inventory and supply chain infrastructure,” according to a company email acquired by both Kotaku and Axios.
The layoffs come even as GameStop Corp’s stock continues to rise after the board approved a four-for-one stock split on Wednesday, July 6.
Furlong also said the “change will be a constant as we evolve our commerce business and launch new products through our blockchain group.” GameStop has reportedly been seeking to expand its presence in the world of NFTs by establishing a “marketplace” for players. In May, it launched a digital wallet for crypto and NFTs.
As part of the layoffs, which Kotaku reports focus on GameStop’s Grapevine, Texas headquarters, CFO Mike Recupero has reportedly left the company after being named to the position just a year ago. Chief administrative officer Diana Jajeh will reportedly take his place, according to Stephen Totilo of Axios.
Back in August 2019, over 120 jobs at GameStop were cut to improve financial performance, including about half of the Game Informer staff at the time. A year later, longtime editor-in-chief and founder Andy McNamara left for Electronic Arts and said in his departure that the previous layoffs had a big impact on his decision.
