CEO of Epic Games apologizes after laying off employee with terminal brain cancer | Fortnite
The chief of the company that created the popular online game Fortnite issued an apology after: reaction Recent mass layoffs cost an employee with terminal brain cancer his job and life insurance.
On Sunday, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney apologized after Jenni Griffin, the wife of laid-off Mike Prinke, posted on social media that her husband’s job loss also meant he would lose his life insurance.
“Epic has been in contact with the family and will resolve their insurance,” Sweeney said in an X post in response to Griffin. “Medical information is highly confidential and this was not a factor in the decision to terminate. I apologize to everyone for failing to recognize and address this terribly painful situation in advance.”
Sweeney’s Epic Games has annual profits of $4 billion. Fortnite is the fourth most played PC game in the world.
In a Facebook postGriffin wrote: “I never dreamed I would write something like this. My husband, Mike, was recently laid off along with over a thousand other people at Epic Games. What makes this different for our family is that Mike is now battling terminal brain cancer. Not only did we lose income due to the layoff, we also lost life insurance.”
Griffin added: “And because his condition is now considered a pre-existing condition, he cannot get new insurance coverage. Now, as I face the reality of losing my husband… I am also facing the reality of what kind of funeral/burial I can afford… I truly believe that if the people making this decision understood the full human impact, they would not want this outcome.”
He continued, “I’m sharing this in the hopes that it reaches the right people. If you work for Mike’s former employer or know someone connected to him, please help this story reach them.”
Accompanying Griffin’s statement was a picture of Prinke’s brain scan, with the headline: “There are dozens of actively growing tumors, but this is the scariest because it aggressively takes up space in the frontal lobe.”
His post quickly went viral and spurred Sweeney into action. answer.
Griffin later approved He said Epic Games reached out on Sunday, writing on Facebook: “We are currently interviewing the appropriate people! Will update soon, probably by Tuesday. Thank you.”
Epic Games announced Mass layoffs on March 24 Sweeney justified the cuts by saying: “The decline in Fortnite engagement that begins in 2025 means we are spending far more than we make and will need to make major cuts to protect the company’s finances. This layoff, along with more [$500m] “The cost savings identified in contracting, marketing and closing some open positions put us in a more stable place.”
He added that affected employees will receive a severance package that includes at least four months’ base salary, among other considerations based on their tenure at the company.
Additionally, Sweeney said Epic will expand paid health insurance. The company planned to provide six months of coverage for laid-off U.S. employees with accelerated stock options.
