Bungie has laid off an employee just days before their maternity leave was scheduled to begin, depriving them of the company's maternity benefits.
Bungie recently announced it would be laying off 220 employees, approximately 17% of the studio's workforce, with chief executive officer Pete Parsons citing "the rising costs of development," "industry shifts" and "enduring economic conditions" as reasons for the redundancies.
One of those affected is Kelly 'Lexuzi' Jin, a former producer at Bungie and expecting mother. In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Jin lamented that being laid off is especially bad for her as she's unlikely to be hired in the next six months with a newborn on the way.
"It's just really bad timing because my maternity leave was supposed to start next Monday, and I got laid off today," Jin writes. "I've contacted HR this morning about my maternity leave benefits. But I will probably not get any of it at this point. Kinda feels bad they did this Wednesday before I start maternity leave - even though I told them about things back in February and had everything planned out."
Jin later follows up, confirming she won't be able to access her...