E101: How Layoffs Go Wrong—and the Right Way to Do Them

Building Better Games

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Do layoffs mean studio leadership is bad?

While the popular answer is often "yes," the truth is more complex. Layoffs can reveal many things, from bad times in the market to failures to manage finances to corporate greed. But if you're a leader, the real test is how you behave when your company's survival is on the line.

Trent Kusters, the co-founder and Studio Head of League of Geeks, joins Ben Carcich for a deeply personal and frank discussion about his experience of laying off almost all of his employees and transitioning the studio into hibernation. Trent argues that leaders are often "ignorant and or untrained" in the critical business, legal, and ethical frameworks needed to navigate a shutdown event with compassion and integrity.

In this discussion, you'll learn:

✅ Why financial foresight and business savvy matter

✅ The true costs of a studio shutdown (even hidden ones like clearing out old desks)

✅ How to build a "rip zone" into your balance sheet to protect everyone

✅ Why living your company values—even when it costs hundreds of thousands—builds a true home for talent

✅ A five-point framework for planning, communicating, and managing a human-centric layoff

Trent's GDC Talk (requires GDC Vault Access) : https://gdcvault.com/play/1035252/Leaders-Working-at-the-Heart

Learn more about Trent Kusters:

🔗League of Geeks Website: https://leagueofgeeks.com/

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentkusters/

🔗X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/trentkusters

Connect with us:

🔗Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/

🔗LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/

🔗Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildingbettergames/#

🔗Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg

🔗YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpMT-dUwQR-R4Mb4uub6Sw

#GameIndustry #GameDevLeadership #StudioLayoffs #FinancialLiteracy #GameProduction