PopCap Games is cutting back even further, announcing today that it closed its offices in Dublin, Ireland. Ninety-six employees are losing their jobs as a result of the closure, which should not come as a surprise.

At the time of last month’s announcement, the maker of Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled said it was considering shutting down the Ireland office.

“To stay in business, we need to manage costs, improve efficiency and maintain a profit,” noted PopCap’s John Vechey in a blog post last month. “We’ve been able to invest in creative new games like Peggle and Plants vs. Zombies because we had a high profit business. That business is challenged, and if we don’t adapt, we won’t be able to invest in new IP. That sounds harsh – but if we don’t stay in business, no more plants, zombies, jewels, frogs or worms.

The layoffs come more than a year after Electronic Arts purchased PopCap for up to $1.3 billion. We’ve reached out to the company about the latest round of cuts, and we’ll update as we hear more.

Interestingly, the news comes a week after EA said that it planned to add 300 customer support jobs in Galway, Ireland, a facility it opened one year ago this month.

UPDATE: Here’s the full statement from PopCap: