EA has made an unspecified number of job cuts at its Galway, Ireland facility, which provides customer support for games including Star Wars: The Old Republic and FIFA 13. While the company declined to confirm the number of affected workers, The Journal understands that just under 20 employees have been let go.

Following on from recent job cuts at EA Montreal, the Ireland job losses are part of EA’s ongoing effort to streamline its operations by "sharpening its focus to provide games for new platforms and mobile".

The company said in a statement: "These are difficult decisions to let go of good people who have made important contributions to EA, and whenever possible we retrain or relocate employees to new roles. Streamlining our operations will help ensure EA is bringing the best next-generation games to players around the world."

Seven months ago, EA’s chief operating officer Peter Moore announced plans for major investment in the customer support centre in Galway, which was expected to result in the workforce growing from 200 to 500 employees.