Esports production company and tournament organiser ESL has offered buyouts to several members of its UK team as it looks to cut numbers as part of a global restructuring.
An internal company memo about the restructuring was leaked earlier this month which said that “the UK office is currently under assessment and roles have been put at risk.” There have also been job cuts in the France and Spain-based ESL teams. ESL UK are one of the biggest players in the British esports scene, and while the redundancies and cuts may sound concerning, all of ESL’s current projects will remain operational. This includes the ESL Premiership, which sees British teams compete in leagues across Dota 2, CS:GO, and Rainbow Six Siege.
The managing director of ESL UK, James Dean, tweeted that it was “an absolute honour” to work with those who would be taking the buyouts and leaving the company and that he will “never forget every individual’s contribution.”
…there is undoubtedly some very exciting next chapters for all involved and it’s certainly not a good bye! I’d hire every single one of these people in an instant if I could… And I’ll never forget every individual’s contribution…….F……..
— James Dean (@j1mco) December 18, 2019
ESL has also made it clear that the decision to downsize the UK team was “in no way a reflection of ESL UK’s operational performance or the current UK esports industry, both of which has been growing year-on-year.”
All UK initiatives will now be supported by ESL’s teams in Germany and Poland.