THQ To Lay Off 600

Agoura Hills-based THQ, a developer and publisher of video games, said Wednesday that it is making "additional cost reduction actions" which includes the layoff of approximately 600 people, or 24 percent of the company's workforce. THQ said the move was a response to the continuing uncertainty in the market. The firm said that the cuts include a reduction in product development spending by an additional $70M, through "studio dispositions" and other project and headcount reductions. THQ also said it would chop sales, marketing, and corporate expenses--including headcount--to try to save an additional $30M annualy. The bad news came in conjunction with its quarterly results, where THQ said it had net sales in the quarter of $357.3M, down significantly from last year when it had net sales of $509.6M. In a statement explaining the results, THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell said it "fell short" of its revenue and profit due to a "challenging environment." The cuts announced Wednesday are on top of restructuring the firm announced in November.