Ninjas in Pyjamas Holds Esports Layoffs in Sweden

Ninjas in Pyjamas has confirmed on social media that it has laid off ‘some operational roles for esports’ in Sweden. The news was described as a difficult change that ‘best serves the long-term health of (their) operations’ at NiP.

This news comes just weeks after the organization reportedly issued ‘warnings’ to staff in Sweden that redundancies were imminent. It was also suggested by some that Ninjas in Pyjamas’ leadership team intended to relocate staff from the Nordic nation to Abu Dhabi, but NiP confirmed this isn’t the case.

Ninjas in Pyjamas Isn’t Moving For Now

In the post on LinkedIn, Ninjas in Pyjamas wrote:

We’ve made the difficult decision to eliminate some operational roles for esports in Sweden. At the same time, our esports teams will be staying where they are. NIP Group is well-positioned to continue its growth, with employees and partners around the globe.

Our team members have not been asked to relocate and will continue to have their homebases in the most competitive markets. While change is difficult, we believe it best serves the long-term health of our operations. We appreciate the hard work of all our team members in making NIP Group what it is today.

Last month, it was claimed that NiP was planning an operational upheaval, moving the organization to the Middle East and away from Sweden. According to the above statement, that’s at least partially untrue.

NIP Group has been diversifying and pivoting in recent months, seeking out alternate revenue streams to cope with the inherent lack of profitability that plagues the wider esports industry.

Last summer, I interviewed Hicham Chahine, CEO of Ninjas in Pyjamas, and we reflected on the organization’s 25-year history and where things go from here. He said:

(We have) one of the largest talent management agencies with 36,000 influencers and digital creators, event production both for our own home games for League of Legends and Honor of Kings alongside music festivals, concerts, and third party events. We are continuing down the diversification route by launching esports hotels and launching a games publishing vertical.

Being disciplined, diversifying the business to handle the volatility of the market and the industry has been pretty core for us in standing the test of time.

Are you following Ninjas in Pyjamas’ diversification to see what happens next? Let us know your predictions on the Insider Gaming Discord server.

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