Zynga Layoffs: Social Gaming Company Slashes 520 Employees, 18% Of Workforce

Zynga Inc. (Nasdaq:ZNGA) said Monday that it laid off 18 percent of its remaining workforce as the struggling social gaming company tries to cut up to $80 million in costs.

In a blog post, CEO Mark Pincus said the “Farmville” maker was pink-slipping employees “proactively” so the company could afford severance packages.

“None of us ever expected to face a day like today, especially when so much of our culture has been about growth,” Pincus wrote. “but I think we all know this is necessary to move forward.”

Last October, Zynga laid off more than 150 and closed the San Francisco-based company’s Boston, Austin and Chicago studios and outsourced some of the jobs to its offices in India.

“By reducing our cost structure today, we will offer our teams the runway they need to take risks and develop these breakthrough new social experiences,” Pincus wrote.

Shares in Zynga were down $12.03 percent by 5 p.m. on Monday.