Los Angeles-based gaming and esports organisation 100 Thieves has undergone a wave of layoffs, amongst them Matty Lee, its former Chief Revenue Officer.
The exact number of departures is not yet clear, but The Jacob Wolf Report reported roughly 30 employees have been laid off. The organisation has around 200 employees according to its LinkedIn page.
The redundancies seem to have hit senior and junior roles alike, according to media reports and social media posts by former staff. The Jacob Wolf Report reported that the Vice President of IT, Director of People, Director of Talent and Head of Partnerships had all been let go, alongside Lee.
100 Thieves President & COO John Robinson took to the 100 Thieves subreddit on Tuesday to comment on the departures. “Tough day today for us, we needed to downsi[z]e the organisation a little bit. We’re in a challenging economic climate and like all sports (and esports) organisations, sponsorships is a major part of our business,” Robinson explained.
“Juvee and Higround are healthy and growing but partnerships is still our biggest source of revenue — the support of our sponsors pays for all our esports and content and a lot of the fun stuff we get to do. We have a new CRO joining tomorrow and have a lot of strong new partners in our pipeline. More than ever, we appreciate all the support for the org, our staff, and our sponsors.”
The news comes after earlier layoffs at 100 Thieves in July last year, which primarily hit its content team.
There have been a string of layoffs at esports companies in recent months as the economic climate worsens and investor sentiment on esports cools significantly. Upcomer, Inven Global, Garena, Dignitas, TSM and ORDER, amongst others, all underwent rounds of layoffs last year.
Former CRO Lee reflected positively on his time at 100 Thieves in a lengthy LinkedIn post on Tuesday. “After nearly 4.5 absolutely incredible, challenging, and rewarding years, my time at 100 Thieves comes to an end today,” the former executive said.
“I’ve been so deeply invested in this brand during that time and just trying to do the next right thing, that it’s a little surreal to take a step back, zoom out, and look at all that we accomplished during this wild ride.
“I’m grateful to have been a small part of what I believe to be one of the best business teams not only in esports, but in the entire world of entertainment.”
