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Former OMGPOP dev "Not surprised at all" by Zynga lay-offs

Zynga shuttered Draw Something developer OMGPOP yesterday as part of a mass round of lay-offs, and one former employee has explained the sense of relief at the studio once the order came down the corporate pipe, stating that no one was surprised by the move.

We reported on tweets coming out of OMGPOP amid the closure yesterday, as developers confirmed that they were now out of work.

Business Insider has spoken with one former OMGPOP employee as part of a report on the closure The piece paints a grim picture of the day the studio was closed, but in reality many developers seemed relieved by the news.

The employee said, "There were no hard facts or figures. No real explanation. Just typical corporate BS. Everyone was just like, 'Yep.' Not surprised at all. It was like the weight had been lifted off our shoulders, that a decision had finally been made."

OMGPOP had little work to do, so many employees had already guessed that the company was heading towards closure. "You could almost feel things were slowing down. We were all champing at the bit for something new," the source said, and added, "We thought, 'You just laid off your most talented mobile team.' We were totally under-utilized."

On the positive nature of the team's reaction, the source explained what happened after the announcement, "Most layoffs are sad. You imagine big corporate settings where security is there to lead people out of the office so they don't make a scene. This was the opposite. Music was being played loudly, and people were ripping up Zynga hoodies and T-shirts. Anything that was Zynga was completely left there. The sentiment felt positive."

What's your take? Are these employees better off without Zynga? Let us know below.

Thanks GI.biz.

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