How Bandai Namco Turned Layoffs into a Boring Game

                                                                            Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash

That all-company meeting when they decide to lay off all of engineering. Yeah, we’ve just had that call.

At least we’re not getting the full Bandai Namco (Bamco) treatment. That is, they’re attempting to bore employees into (corporate) death.

Strict Doesn’t Cover it

I know we’ve all heard about tech layoffs around the world. In Japan, things are well…slightly more Japanese.

Japan has strict labor laws and culture, which make firing employees nearly impossible. This leaves companies in a difficult situation when they wish to trim their headcount.

Bamco had a long meeting about it. They decided that corporate death is easy to organize, and decided to use their superpower learned from the Pac-Man games on their own employees. 

They decided to bore their employees out of the organization.

Expulsion Rooms

They call them “Expulsion Rooms”.

These are places where employees are reassigned and given menial tasks.

Shaming people in this way may well lead to employees quitting. In Bloomberg it is claimed Bamco moved 200 people into such rooms and half of those have left so far.

Seriously?

Bamco themselves deny this is happening. But other Japanese companies have been accused of pursuing such methods in the past (the likes of Sony and Panasonic to name two) so it seems likely this is happening.

Luckily in (most) of the West things are a little more straightforward. Sure, you might get a small cardboard box to collect your things due to “at will” employment, but at least you have a chance of leaving with your dignity intact.

I’m Not Surprised

I can’t say this is a tactic that surprises me. Software “resources” are shuffled around like an out-of-place desk, and this is just an extreme way to ensure companies get what they want out of any given situation.

Video games are often known as one of the worst places to work. Unpaid overtime? Check. Crunch culture and sleeping bags in the office? Got it.

I’m surprised there isn’t a PS5 version of the Hunger Games where you work as a software developer battling for the respect of your employers, and even if you win your project is cancelled with no reason given.

Boredom Kills

I’ve had a boring job for the last couple of years with nothing to do. Now I’m laid off I can see the impact it has had on my performance and now my interview answers.

The answer to this?

Get a job that doesn’t bore you to death. That’s whether you are working at Bamco, or not.

Conclusion

If you’re a dev at Bandai Namco, maybe it’s time to brush up your resume. And if you’re reading this from your new expulsion room — just quit already. Bandai Namco may have put you on the bench, but you don’t have to stay there.