Satoru Iwata admitted that “employees who fear that they may be laid off” never produce the same results ~ Amazing News 2020

Satoru Iwata admitted that “employees who fear that they may be laid off” never produce the same results

By Sickr on July 15, 2026

With the games industry today looking increasingly volatile due to higher costs and mass layoffs of personnel, Games Radar has picked up on a statement by the late Satoru Iwata back in 2013 when the Nintendo 3DS didn’t launch as well as the company had anticipated. Mr. Iwata told investors back then that “layoffs might offer “better short-term financial results” but “employees who fear that they may be laid off” will never produce the same results. Here’s what he told them at the time:

“Regarding why we have not reduced the number of the personnel, it is true that our business has its ups and downs every few years, and of course, our ideal situation is to make a profit even in the low periods, return these profits to investors and maintain a high share price. I believe we should continue working toward this ideal. If we reduce the number of employees for better short-term financial results, however, employee morale will decrease, and I sincerely doubt employees who fear that they may be laid off will be able to develop software titles that could impress people around the world. I believe we can become profitable with the current business structure in consideration of exchange rate trends and popularization of our platforms in the future. We should of course cut unnecessary costs and pursue efficient business operations. I also know that some employers publicize their restructuring plan to improve their financial performance by letting a number of their employees go, but at Nintendo, employees make valuable contributions in their respective fields, so I believe that laying off a group of employees will not help to strengthen Nintendo’s business in the long run. Our current policy is to achieve favorable results by continuously cutting unnecessary expenses and increasing business efficiency. Thank you for listening.”