GAMES GIANT EA has decided to cut a number of jobs at its customer service centre in Galway, just seven months after it announced it would create 300 new positions in the expansion of its presence in the county.

In September last year, the video games manufacturer announced 300 new jobs, in addition to the 200 staff it already employed, that would be created through an IDA Ireland-supported expansion. However yesterday staff at the quality department in Galway were told that the company would be making cuts.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, a spokesperson for the company said that it is “sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile” and that, in some cases, this involves reducing team sizes.

These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world.

The spokesperson said the company would not disclose the number of jobs that would be lost in the cuts in Ireland however TheJournal.ie understands it is just less than 20.

Just yesterday Joystiq reported that the company was laying off around 60 permanent employees at EA Mobile Montreal in Canada and a further 100 people working under contract.

A spokesperson for IDA Ireland said it “has a longstanding relationship with EA – the company continues to employ significant numbers in the Galway area”.

Read: Games giant EA to create 300 customer service jobs in Galway>
Read: EA subsidiary to open call centre with 200 jobs>