“Disgusting HR department,” The Guard has reportedly laid off all its employees in what seems to be a massive esports staff cut

One of the company's clothing designers tweeted that "everyone's position" at The Guard had been terminated as the first to break the news.

“Disgusting HR department,” The Guard has reportedly laid off all its employees in what seems to be a massive esports staff cut

The Guard (Image Credits: ValorIntel)

Some hours ago, reports surfaced claiming that The Guard, a well-known esports, gaming, and video company based in LA, fired “every single employee.” Nearly every employee, including management staff, social teams, creative teams, and content creators, has reportedly been removed from the top down. There is currently no confirmation of what is actually occurring within The Guard’s eSports team.

The LA Guerrillas (Call of Duty League) and the LA Gladiators are two important teams that compete under the name The Guard (Overwatch League). As of right now, neither of these teams’ social media accounts has provided any updates on the situation.

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Several employees at The Guard have reportedly been laid-off

The Guard has reportedly laid off all its employees in what seems to be a massive esports staff cut
Image Credits: Business of Esports

The Guard’s former employees haven’t hesitated to express their grief on social media in the wake of a sudden and unexpected wave of layoffs. The gaming and esports industries are currently experiencing a widespread trend in which numerous companies aggressively lay off sizable portions of their workforces.

Recently, Riot Games fired a number of staff, Microsoft fired hundreds of workers across its Xbox division, and 100 Thieves absolved its creators of their duties.

The Guard is reportedly handling the issue very poorly. Ariel Ben-Abraham, a well-known creator, revealed how on-site security was trying to hold him as he attempted to back up important files on his laptop before departing, on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/ArielCreate/status/1628533785762598912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1628533785762598912%7Ctwgr%5E224aa160711085b27cb93c63dbb56003d793c29a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.esports.net%2Fnews%2Fthe-guard-layoffs%2F

It’s reasonable to say that no one anticipated this action, and it comes as a complete surprise. Only a couple of hours earlier, The Guard shared a VALORANT clip on Twitter before quickly terminating the staff member who had submitted the video (most likely). The Guard was actively hiring new employees within the departments that it has now terminated as recently as ten days ago, highlighting the suddenness of the decision.

The Guard has reportedly laid off all its employees in what seems to be a massive esports staff cut
Image Credits: www.theguard.gg)

This choice is speculated to have been made by the parent company of The Guard, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), which is led by businessman Stan Kroenke, who is said to have a net worth of $13 billion. It’s unlikely that KSE has financial issues, therefore there’s probably a more complicated explanation for the sudden and abrupt firing of a complete esports organization.

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