Night of the Long Wands

According to GamingReport.com and other sources, Wizards of the Coast laid off 15 good people today. This includes:

Peter Archer
Gary Benion
Leeds Chamberlain
Mike Elliot
Joe Hauck
Cornelius Lee
Michelle Lyons
John Rateliff
Pat Robinett
Katie Roe
Charles Ryan
Tim Thomas
Wendy Wallace
Teeuwyn Woodruff

These are some of the best and brightest people in the company, many of whom have been with the organization for years. Peter ran the book division (which publishes my Eberron trilogy, The Lost Mark). Charles was the brand manager for Dungeons & Dragons, and one of my employees at Pinnacle. Michelle is a crack editor who just moved out to Seattle this year to take the job. Mike headed up the nonlicensed CCG design department. Joe was in charge of the whole nonlicensed CCGs branch. John is a fantastic RPG designer whose work I edited on Decipher’s version of The Lord of the Rings RPG. Teuwynn is a great game designer (RPG and otherwise) who’s been with the company for ages.

Getting laid off is never fun, and having it happen before the holidays makes it that much rougher. Many companies handle layoffs in December, as it helps trim costs just before the end of the fiscal year, but it doesn’t make it any easier for those who are cut.

If you know of anyone else affected by the cuts, drop me a note. I’d love to know which of my friends I should be worrying about and which still have their jobs.

To those of you who were cut, best wishes to you. I hope you can use the holiday season and your severance package to take a deserved (if involuntary) break and come out ready for more in the new year. If I can help in any way, just say the word.

Edit: Added Gary Benion and Teeuwyn Woodruff to the list.

Edit 2: Added Leeds Chamberlain and Pat Robinett