Electronic Arts cutting jobs

Software maker Electronics Arts Inc., which was several offices in Canada, plans to cut about six per cent of its workforce.

The cuts are expected to affect 600 EA staffaround the world.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which has offices in Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal,has not said whether the cuts affect software engineers, management or both. The company said it plans to move some of its work overseas.

"When we go through these exercises we look at all parts of the business, and it all depends on how the individual team or individual studio is going to achieve their financial goals. So we look across the board and see how we can achieve that," said Colin Macrae, EA's director of communications.

The move comes as the company reported deeper losses in its second quarter. The firm said it lost $310 million US, compared with $195 million US in the same quarter of last year. Higher development and marketing costs were blamed for the wider loss.

The company reported net revenue of $894 million US, a jump of 40 per cent over last year, driven by sales of popular titles such as Madden NFL 09 and Spore. The company also had the popular Rock Band 2, which is expected to be a strong Christmas seller.

EA also lowered its profit outlook for its full fiscal year.

"Considering the slowdown at retail we've seen in October, we are cautious in the short term," said John Riccitiello, EA's chief executive officer, in a statement. "Longer term, we are very bullish on the game sector overall and on EA in particular."

Investors reacted by sending shares of EA down sharply on Friday. The stock fell almost 18 per cent, or $4.95 US, to close at $22.78. Earlier in the day, the stock touched a new 52-week low of $21.91 US on Nasdaq.