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Two studios face closure as Glu Mobile plans to cut up to 140 jobs

Bellevue definitely closing, Long Beach dependent on performance

Two studios face closure as Glu Mobile plans to cut up to 140 jobs

Glu Mobile is cutting up to 140 jobs and potentially closing two of its studios as part of a business restructure.

Around 107 jobs are guaranteed to be lost – 95 from Glu's Bellevue and Long Beach studios and 12 from its San Francisco headquarters.

The Bellevue office is also to be shut down entirely. A further 33 jobs at the Long Beach studio could also be lost and the studio closed if the beta launch of the upcoming Car Town Racing does not perform to a high standard.

Glu is also shifting all development and live ops of its Rival Racing series to mobile developer Carbonated Inc. This deal states that Glu will recuperate any and all development costs before it is required to pay the developer a share of the profits.

Building back up

The restructuring could cost up to $5.4 million for Glu should it decide to close its Long Beach studio. If Car Town Racing succeeds, the restructuring plan will cost up to $3.5 million.

Despite the job losses and closures, Glu expects its headcount to return to how it was at the start of 2017 by the end of the year. It is looking to increase staff at its San Francisco and Hyderabad studios to work on new titles and support existing ones.

Glu recently acquired Reykjavik-based developer Plain Vanilla in a deal worth $8.7 million. The developer is known for its trivia-focused title QuizUp.

In November 2016 the company also splashed out $45.5 million for a controlling interest in California-based Covet: Fashion developer Crowdstar, a deal that is already proving fruitful.

[Source: Seeking Alpha]


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