@ekaterinodar

Personally, I am wondering what 500+ jobs Blizzard cut. If they were internships, then that's nothing; but if they were real jobs that people staked their lives on, then Blizzard firing them to save money for the company is inexcusable. In a time where there is giant skepticism about large companies and corporations, making multiple-million/billion dollar a year, and CEO's, those making the "hard decisions," salaries in comparison to the average salary is enormous (much worse if you consider low-economic neighborhoods). This is a terrible thing for Blizzard to do. I know WoW goes farther than America, and once again I am curious to see what jobs were cut, but to mention that the cut is to "better maintain the health of the company" is BS in my opinion. Usually when companies need to remind us how much they are suffering for our good the opposite is usually the truth.

Reading up a bit on Engels, Chomsky, or even Marx might show how these companies are not looking out for anyone's best interest except for themselves. Oh, and that reminder's me, an interesting book to read about this topic is The Corporation; ya, when you can rationally consider companies like ActiBlizz, GM, Sprint, --insert company/corporation-- as separate entities (i.e. humans, dogs, anything that lives and breathes); it can seriously make you sick. Why (if your asking)? because then they share human characteristics; in other words, we would have label these companies sociopaths.

One last thing about your "...Corporate isn't always the bad guy. I know its an easy catchall to blame it on them, but all that really boils down to glorified class warfare. 'They are in charge and have money so they are bad because I don't have it.'" This is simply untrue. People do not get pissed at companies when they have work, they get pissed when their work gets taken away by them. Job loss is tied heavily to the economy and the health of free trade: when the economy is good there are job, and no jobs when it is bad (Engels Theory).

So, is the loss of these jobs because the economy is bad? I say no. World of Warcraft is bringing in TONS of money, possibly enough to feed an entire starving country (not in the way America eats though), and yet, right after completing Diablo III, all of a sudden job loss. I smell something fishy, but then again, I am a skeptic.

This seems to be the new thing. Cut jobs to increase stocks so that the rich may get richer. I work for the railroad and they are doing the exact same thing. Only bad thing if they are cutting too many jobs and nto getting the work done. Then they act like they don't understand what the problem is.

Wouldn't mind it so much if those 600 people wouldn't amount to about 10% of their total employees. So calling that "overstaffing" doesn't really seem to fit it.

Oh well... Hope those suits responsible for the layoffs will choke on their bonuses. Karma can be a *****.

Blizzard is not GM, they do not have untold obligations to pay out to thousands of workers in pensions and health care. Nor are they so creatively drained that they are very much incapable of competing with superior competition, from the way things are going sure but now, no.

After years of doing nothing but recycling at the laziest pace ever and lying about WoW sub numbers, Blizzard finally takes a small hit in profits. Most companies, specially those considered beyond reproach by the industry such as ActivisionBlizzard, could easily hype up into profits with just the most minute measure of additional effort.

But this being modern corporate life of course they don't do that; they just toss a bunch of people out like yesterdays trash to keep investors happy and preserve their golden toilet bonuses.