EA has laid off employees of its PopCap studios in Dublin, Shanghai and Seattle, Duke Nukem creator George Broussard tweeted today, following an earlier message saying layoffs were "imminent" at PopCap. PopCap Dublin has been shut down, Shanghai has been "shrunk" and Seattle has let go 50 people, according to Broussard.

PopCap may have been quietly firing people for months, VG24/7 reported.

EA acquired PopCap in August 2011 for $750 million, in the hopes it would "accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business," EA CEO John Riccitiello said. Yesterday PopCap announced Plants vs. Zombies 2, which is expected to launch in late spring 2013.

We have reached out to EA and PopCap for more information.