Another year, another series of layoffs. Bungie CEO Pete Parsons is drawing public attention for his poor leadership — and for lining his own bank account without fail.
Since Jan. 2024, well over 10,000 employees have been dismissed from companies worldwide, notably in the video game industry (via GeekWire). As we leap headfirst into the second half of the year, the subsidiary video game company of Sony Interactive Entertainment called Bungie also announced a new round of layoffs on July 31st. This marks Bungie’s second reorganization in nine months, following the dismissal of 100 employees in October of last year.
The CEO of the Bellevue, WA-based company, known for its Halo, Destiny, and Marathon series, announced on Wednesday morning the decision to lay off approximately 17% of its workforce. This translates to 220 employees, including most executive and senior leadership roles. The announcement came on the official Bungie website by CEO Pete Parsons, who has since locked his X account to avoid backlash.
Parsons also announced a “deeper” integration into Sony Interactive Entertainment, working to integrate 155 roles, or roughly 12% of the workforce over the next quarters. As for what led the company to make such harsh decisions, Parsons wrote “We were overly ambitious, our financial safety margins were subsequently exceeded, and we began running in the red.”
But amidst Parsons making such an announcement, netizens are questioning his leadership as the former had been Bungie’s CEO for eight years. Eight years and two layoffs back-to-back? Anyone would be raising an eyebrow. What’s even bigger a red flag is how the CEO is still sourcing handsome salaries for himself while laying off hundreds of people.
Bungie CEO Pete Parsons’ salary
According to one X user @TheSamBartley, who claims to be an employee affected by the Wednesday morning layoffs, Parson invited them to see his “new cars” two days prior. Another user, @destiny_thememe, responded to Parsons’ official note where he wrote about the “exhaustive measures undertaken across our leadership and product teams to resolve financial challenges,” asking “What did leadership do exactly?“
The user’s questions seem fair and important at a time when the CEO claims that the company is going through financial struggles, yet does not reveal any consequences for himself. According to Comparably, the most compensated executive at Bungie, which should be Parsons as the CEO, makes $600,000 annually. Shouldn’t the CEO take the fall alongside his workers, and take a salary cut too?