Sierra On-Line to Cut 245 Jobs

BELLVUE, Wash. — Video game publisher Sierra On-Line Inc., a division of Vivendi Universal, said Tuesday that it would lay off 245 people and close one of its studios as it reorganizes its businesses.

Sierra said certain functions in its Bellevue, Wash., office not related to game development will be consolidated as corporate functions of Vivendi Universal Publishing. That will result in 148 job cuts.

Sierra will shut down its development studio Dynamix in Eugene, Ore., and move production to Bellevue, resulting in 97 layoffs.

The company said it will divest all of the products in its Sierra Home division except for the Print Artist software, which will be managed from Los Angeles.