Thursday 2 October 2014

Angry Birds maker Rovio plans job cuts

Angry Birds maker Rovio plans job cuts

Reuters


HELSINKI - Finnish mobile games maker Rovio, owner of the globally successful Angry Birds brand, said on Thursday it was planning to cut up to 130 jobs in Finland, or 16 percent of its total workforce.

"We have been building our team on assumptions of faster growth than have materialized. As a result, we announced today that we plan to simplify our organization ... we also need to consider possible employee reductions," Chief Executive Mikael Hed said in a statement.

According to Rovio, the Angry Birds game, in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs who steal birds' eggs, is the No. 1 paid mobile application of all time.

Rovio has expanded the brand into an animated TV series and merchandising of toys and clothing, but at the same time it has struggled to retain players, resulting to its earnings halving last year.
In August, the company named Pekka Rantala, a former Nokia executive, as its next CEO.

(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by David Holmes)

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