The Orlando Sentinel has confirmed that Electronic Arts has laid off an undisclosed number of employees from its Tiburon studio, which produces the Madden NFL franchise, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and more. The job cuts are part of the publisher's previously announced cost reduction plan, which will ultimately see EA cut about 10 percent of its workforce and consolidate around nine production facilities.

EA's Craig Hagen, who handles government affairs for the company in North America, said that some reduction at Tiburon was also achieved by freezing open positions. "The economy is affecting every industry including ours and we need to tighten our belts and reduce our operating costs," he told the newspaper.

Hagen does not expect the layoffs to affect Tiburon's game development going forward. "Tiburon remains one of the flagship studios for EA Sports and will continue to be the home base for the leading sports franchises like Madden and Tiger and NCAA Football," he said.

Video game sales in the U.S. set a new record in 2008, but it's clear that the economic recession is having its effect on companies throughout the industry, as EA Tiburon is the latest in a long string of studios to see some layoffs in the last few months.