Activision-Blizzard says layoffs "could negatively impact our business"

Last month, during a fourth-quarter results conference call, Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick announced that the company had enjoyed a record year, and also that they were going to lay off hundreds of their employees. Now Activision-Blizzard's annual Form 10-K report, published on February 28, has appeared, and it says that the consequences of these layoffs "could negatively impact our business." 

In the fanciful lingo of the newsroom: Well, duh.

That said, textbook cover-your-ass disclaimers are what 10-K filings are all about. The phrase "negatively impact" occurs 48 times within the document in other such painfully obvious statements as: "If we do not consistently deliver popular, high-quality content in a timely manner, or if consumers prefer competing products, our business may be negatively impacted."

However, the schadenfreude of a well-performing company getting rid of 8% of their staff and then having to admit that, as a consequence, things might be more difficult in the future, remains delicious.

Thanks, PC Games Insider.