Xbox’s bitter Friday: Microsoft’s gaming division leaves 1,900 workers at home in the latest wave of layoffs
The term “wave of layoffs” unfortunately often echoes in the gaming industry, and the latest staff cuts come from Microsoftas communicated by the head of Xbox. Usually a harbinger of good news and positivity among competitors, Phil Spencer spoke of the “painful decision” to reduce the workforce and salaries, with the promise to “fully support” the employees most influenced by what was communicated in the internal circular. And as easy as it is to attribute the cause of the sorting to AI, the official declaration concerns the merging of Activisionactually finalized when the Redmond giant loomed large.
I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives. It’s an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted – this is in no way a reflection…
— Mike Ybarra 🎄 (@Qwik) January 25, 2024
Microsoft’s wave of layoffs: what’s happening in the world of Xbox?
“As we move into 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard intend to align on a strategy and execution plan with a sustainable structural cost to support our entire growing business,” begins in avocatese the head of Xbox on the wave of layoffs. “Together we prioritized ourselves, identifying areas of redundancy and ensuring we were aligned on the best growth opportunities. As part of this process, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce of 22,000 people by approximately 1,900 positions.” The acquisitions they often lead to finding ourselves in the hands of “duplicators” in terms of personnel. Among this 9% of employees who remained at home is Mike Ybarra of Blizzard, as you can see above. 2023 in general was amazing for video games, but less so for behind the scenes. And in memory of a less dark past, let’s drop the curtain on the article.
When Nintendo was at an extremely low point, Iwata said something we haven’t really seen since. pic.twitter.com/hlR4Yhv4QH
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) January 25, 2024
Now it’s up to you… to wish the best to the 1900 employees who will dust off LinkedIn, actually. Write to us below, and as always don’t forget to stay on techgameworld.com for all the most important news for gamers and beyond. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.