Business | Video game maker Activision Blizzard laying off…

Video game maker Activision Blizzard Inc. will soon lay off nearly 400 people in its in mobile gaming divisions in Santa Monica and Irvine, eliminating redundancies among its staff following last year’s $75.4 billion merger with software giant Microsoft Corp.

These layoffs come on top of 1,003 already made over the past year by Activision, ranging from operations in Novato and Foster City in the Bay Area to Southern California offices, according to state filings with the Employment Development Department.

Activision Blizzard, which was acquired after in last year’s merger with Microsoft Corp., informed the EDD that 140 jobs were to be eliminated beginning Oct. 11 at the Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine.

The jobs being eliminated cover a broad swath of positions in the company’s Irvine operations, according to a letter filed by Leslie Campbell, the director of Activision Blizzard’s human resources. They include accountants, software engineers, the director of human resources for World of Warcraft video games, artists, the director of technology game designers, game producers, sound designers and a game director and vice president.

“Anything you are looking at in the WARN system would be part of reductions that were previously announced,” said Activision Blizzard spokeswoman Delay Simmons, in an email statement.

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