Microsoft сuts 1,900 jobs in its gaming division
Microsoft (Getty Images)
Microsoft is cutting 1,900 jobs from its gaming companies, Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax. It is about 8% of the Microsoft Gaming division, totaling nearly 22,000 employees, Reuters and The Verge report.
Most of the cuts will be at Activision Blizzard. The head of Microsoft's Gaming division, Phil Spencer, shared this news in an internal memo.
"As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business...As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team," the statement says.
Blizzard's President, Mike Ybarra, and Chief Design Officer, Allen Adham, are also leaving. A game being developed by Blizzard has been canceled.
This move comes a few months after Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. The goal was to strengthen Microsoft's position in the gaming market, competing with Sony's popular titles like "Call of Duty."
Other big lay-offs
On January 11, it was reported that Alphabet, Google's parent company, was undergoing organizational changes, involving layoffs across various teams, including digital assistant, hardware, and engineering departments. The tech giant aims to cut costs by reducing its workforce.
According to Reuters, in January alone, over 21,000 people have lost their jobs in the tech industry. Last year, the tech sector saw 168,032 job cuts, the most in any industry. Microsoft itself cut over 10,000 jobs. This year, experts predict fewer job cuts, but companies investing heavily in AI might still reduce staff to balance their spending.
