THQ has laid off fourteen employees in its Australia office and begun plans to close down its Japan office completely. The moves were initially leaked to Kotaku Australia by an anonymous source claiming to be a THQ employee and later confirmed by THQ in a statement. THQ denied initial rumors that its Japan office was closing and instead said the layoffs were part of the new business direction the company announced last week, which included an exit from the kids' game business. The THQ Australia and Japan offices were not involved in game development, but instead worked with distribution.

In December, THQ laid off 30 employees at its uDraw division following the massive commercial failure of the uDraw releases for 360 and PS3. These layoffs included Martin Good, an executive vice president who oversaw the Play THQ division. In August of last year, THQ laid off over 200 employees and closed two of its internal Australia-based development studios. Now THQ has five remaining internal development studios: Patrice Desilets' THQ Montreal, Volition, Relic Entertainment, Vigil Games, and THQ San Diego.

SOURCE: Rumor: THQ reduces AU staff by 14, Japan office set to close [Joystiq]