Apex Legends Season 16: Revelry is all about celebrating the game’s fourth year. Unfortunately, playtesters at EA’s Baton Rouge office are unlikely to join in the festivities after over 200 of them were laid off earlier today, according to a report by Kotaku. According to the publication’s sources, the announcement came via a “surprise Zoom call” during which hundreds of Apex Legends playtesters were unceremoniously dumped by the triple-A game publisher.
Described as “unscheduled and mandatory,” it’s clear the Zoom call came as a shock to both the playtesters themselves and the company’s higher level supervisors–the latter of whom were allegedly given no notice nor time to prepare prior to Tuesday’s massive layoffs. Adding insult to injury, Kotaku’s sources claim that, after the surprise Zoom meeting, employees who had been laid off were only allowed to go clean out their desks and collect personal belongings while under the direct supervision of EA security personnel. EA is reportedly offering 60 days of severance pay, though this is allegedly far less time than most employees still had on their employment contracts.