Gaming firm to leave Cork with loss of 89 jobs

Just four years after it arrived in Ireland, gaming company Big Fish has announced it is pulling out of Cork.

The US multinational has entered into a 30-day consultation process with its 89 staff based at CityGate in Mahon.

However, informed sources admit that is only a legal formality and the location will close.

News of the closure was broken to staff through a written communication from the US from chief executive Paul Thelen.

He said the pace of change in the industry required the company to invest in areas where it is growing.

Just last year, Big Fish announced it was recruiting 30 software engineers to develop a cloud gaming service. However, in his communication. Mr Thelen said that Big Fish was discontinuing its premium cloud delivery business as it was “not growing as fast as we had hoped it would and is not on a path to profitability”.

“Letting people go is not an easy decision and we would not be making it if it were not absolutely necessary to secure the best possible future for us at Big Fish Games,” said Mr Thelen.

Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said he was disappointed at Big Fish’s decision.

“Information technology has been hugely successful for Cork so I would be hopeful that those that are going to lose their jobs will be in a position to find alternative employment,” said Mr Healy.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said he would be calling on Jobs Minister Richard Bruton “to do everything he can” to assist the employees. He urged Mr Bruton to outline what talks took place between his department, the IDA, and Big Fish ahead of the announcement of the closure of the firm’s European headquarters.

Cork has been positioning itself as a leading hub for games and software firms.