Electronic Arts has told debt investors it will cut $700 million in annual costs, including $170 million in "organizational efficiencies," signaling mass layoffs just weeks after closing its $55 billion acquisition, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Schreier laid out the financing math on Bluesky: "EA's annual Ebitda is around $1.5 billion, which should be enough to service the interest payments. But the publisher has told debt investors that it will cut $700 million in annual costs including $170 million in 'organizational efficiencies,' per Bloomberg. In other words: mass layoffs."

Who now owns EA?

The cost-cutting plan emerged after EA confirmed its acquisition by a consortium comprising:

• Silver Lake
• The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia
• Affinity Partners, the investment firm founded by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump

The leveraged structure of the deal explains the pressure: EA must service debt interest from roughly $1.5 billion in annual EBITDA, and headcount is the most visible lever for hitting the $700 million target.

What does this change for studios?

Entire development teams could be affected as the publisher reduces costs. BioWare faces particular risk; the studio is already in a difficult position, with the next Mass Effect still in pre-production despite a leadership shake-up, and could bear the consequences of the acquisition's efficiency drive.

EA has not confirmed anything officially, so the scope, timing and affected studios remain unknown until a formal announcement lands.

A pattern of cuts and bonuses

The looming round follows earlier layoffs this year. Despite those cuts, EA CEO Andrew Wilson and other executives received more than $60 million in bonuses after Battlefield 6 met all of the publisher's launch milestones — a contrast that drew sharp criticism as developers absorbed the prior reductions.

The buyout context matters for interpreting the $700 million figure. EA previously sought to quell fears by stating it would retain creative control under the Saudi-backed ownership, and a separate report has suggested Saudi Arabia's PIF is exploring merging EA with Savvy Games Group. Cost rationalization of this scale would likely precede any such consolidation.

For now, the numbers are investor commitments, not a published restructuring plan. Watch for EA's official layoff announcement and any detail on which studios and headcounts the $170 million in organizational efficiencies will hit.