Hasbro Lays Off 1.1k Employees, Will Close Rhode Island Facility
On December 11th, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks announced that the company will be laying off roughly 1,100 employees. According to a report by CNN, this roughly 20% workforce cut will begin to roll out beginning this week and progress over the next six months.
This announcement comes after last Monday's after-hours trading resulted in a four-percent drop in Hasbro shares. Prior to the layoffs, the company had approximately 6,300 employees.
Additionally, Hasbro announced in August that they were going to sell their television and film company, Entertainment One, to Lionsgate. This move recoups about $500 million for the toy and games company. Meanwhile, direct business competitor Mattel is doing quite well for themselves, with their Barbie film grossing over $1 billion in domestic box office sales. Consumers can expect their Q4 market shares as well as for the entire year to increase.
Unfortunately for the corporation responsible for Magic: The Gathering, these aren't the only ways that Hasbro has cut corners lately. As an additional measure, Hasbro announced that they will be shuttering their facility in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2025.
Layoffs Affecting Magic's Pro Tour
It stands to reason that a ton of layoffs will have a major effect on consumers down the line. The Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour circuit stands to lose a lot from these cuts. According to writer and game industry professional Brian David-Marshall:
Anxious for all my friends at Wizards today and fearful about what this means for the Pro Tour -- hopefully nothing.
I am not going to hold my breath for Chris Cocks and the rest of the Hasbro board taking a 20% pay cut across the board but it sure would be good gesture.
— Brian David-Marshall (@Top8Games) December 12, 2023
These concerns are echoed by others on Twitter, Reddit, and other hubs for the Magic: The Gathering gaming community online. With these layoffs, Pro Tours have the potential to end up understaffed and lacking in proper support or accommodations for players. Furthermore, as David-Marshall mentions in a reply to the above post, this will also stymie freelancers in various aspects of the industry.
A Glimmer Of Magic Amid Hasbro Losses
However, not all hope is lost for the corporation that makes Magic happen. According to their 10-Q form from Q3 of 2023, while there's most certainly a net loss for the company overall, Wizards of the Coast is doing quite a bit to carry the company. This is most certainly due, in part or in whole, to Magic and Dungeons & Dragons sales. In that quarter alone, Hasbro consumer products lost a net of 17% revenue and their entertainment lost 22%. Meanwhile, Wizards gained 11% net revenue. For that, Magic players can rest easy.
This information gives consumers hope for the future of Wizards of the Coast and their continued success amid Hasbro's concerning downward trend. Whether Wizards goes down with the corporate ship remains to be seen as Hasbro is still afloat. However, Magic is here for the long haul, with or without the corporation that owns it now.