- EA has recently faced many layoffs and office closures.
- Major games like Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Mandalorian were also cancelled.
- Despite the layoffs, the executives alone have earned $60 million.
- Around half of the $60 million went to the CEO.
It is no wonder that the gaming industry has been in peril due to many layoffs in 2024. While this is a serious concern, the industry is managing to recover. Giants like Xbox went through layoffs, and even PlayStation is no stranger to this trend.
Similar is the case for EA, as this publisher has laid off many employees and closed many offices this year. One would think that this would lead to losses for the whole company, but the executives alone have earned $60 million in 2024.
Why it matters: Layoffs and closures are primarily made due to poor performance and losses, so this is an interesting turn of events at EA.
EA has revealed how much the executives and CEO have earned during the fiscal year 2024. During these 12 months, the executives have earned $60 million, which is surprising given the publisher’s state.
As noted in the Annual Meeting and proxy statement by Electronic Arts, this total sum includes the salaries, awards, and compensation. To no one’s surprise, the one who took most of the money home is none other than the CEO, Andrew Wilson.
He took over $25.6 million to help the executives restructure the business model. He has taken nearly half of the money earned in the fiscal year, and Wilson was awarded a hefty sum because he supposedly did a great job considering the employees’ satisfaction.
Other than that, he helped strategically align the studio’s leadership.
The CEO received $1.3 million as a salary. Moreover, he earned a whopping $20.4 million in stock awards. He then received an additional $3.44 million from the non-equity incentive plan.
All added up, Andrew Wilson earned around 172 times more than an average employee at EA.
An average employee at the company earns around $150K. Another surprising fact is that Wilson made more money in 2024 than in 2023 and 2022. Therefore, the layoffs didn’t impact him as much as the others.
Such massive bonuses are not surprising to see for executives at major publishers. However, when it comes to the current landscape, perhaps publishers should do a better job of catering to the average employee’s needs instead of the big executives.
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