Nintendo’s top dog says that layoffs may solve short-term financial woes, but are destructive to employee morale.
Nintendo isn’t doing so well this generation. Despite this, president Satoru Iwata refuses to layoff staff members, stating that while it may solve short-term financial woes, the destructive effect on employee morale isn’t worth it. “If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, employee morale will decrease,” he told investors in a Q and A session.
Further justifying his reasoning, Iwata says “I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world.” Sounds like a pretty solid boss who actually has his employee’s bests interests at heart, if he refuses to give them the ax despite the company’s struggling financials.
“I also know that some employers publicize their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go,” Iwata explained, “but at Nintendo, employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo’s business in the long run.”
Iwata points to the rapidly strengthening yen versus the US dollar as another reason for the company’s financial situation. He adds that that today’s games require more manpower to produce than those in the past, mirroring statements made earlier this week by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto
Source: Siliconera
