Nintendo has recently closed down two of its offices in North America. Kotaku originally reported that the offices in Redwood City, California will close, and then Nintendo will soon after announce it was closings its Toronto offices too. Nintendo plans to move its employees from those offices into their headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and Vancouver. The closer of the Redwood offices also included the resignation of the SVP of Sales and Marketing Nick Chavez.
The position of SVP of Sales and Marketing was previously held by Doug Bowser before he became president of Nintendo of America. Chavez is now being reported to be joining Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to help that company grow its Yum! Brands. Nintendo reveals that the Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and Publisher Relations for Nintendo of America — Devon Pritchard — will be in the interim leadership position of Sales, Marketing, and Communications.
Other recent restructurings of Nintendo include the downsizing of the company’s South Korea branch in 2016 and the restructuring in Nintendo of Europe in 2014. The latter restructuring led to 320 lay-offs.
It isn’t known why Nintendo is closing the two North American offices, especially now since the Nintendo Switch has been selling incredibly well. Based on reports many employees are very upset by this news. The closer of Redwood offices could sadly displace roughly 100 employees.
