Roblox layoffs hit 30 staff in hiring team

Video game creation platform Roblox has laid off 30 staff in the company's talent acquisition team, as hiring slows.

The layoffs come following a period of dramatic growth for the game, which now commands 250 million monthly active users - more than Fortnite and Minecraft combined.

Reporting on the layoffs, Techcrunch said it believed the changes reflected a greater push within Roblox - which operates at a net loss - to focus in on its bottom line, which is heavily affected the growing sums it pays developers on its platform.

"With our commitment to getting our cash compensation growth in line with our bookings growth by the end of Q1 2024, we now need a smaller Talent Acquisition organisation to meet our adjusted hiring needs," a Roblox spokesperson said.

"This action is the result of the reduction in our hiring targets to better align with our growth goals."

In August, Roblox said it would begin advertising jobs at the company from within the game via a virtual career centre where applicants can turn up for events, podcasts and conversations with existing employees.

For now, the experience is designed for candidates in junior roles, with the idea that it will appeal to those who played Roblox as they were growing up.

While not live yet, Roblox intends to begin inviting candidates to "certain initial interviews" within the experience "soon".

Roblox recently announced plans to belatedly launch on PlayStation consoles beginning in October, following a full launch on Meta Quest 2 headsets later this month.