San Francisco— Microsoft is set to cut approximately 9,000 jobs—around 4 percent of its global workforce—in its latest round of layoffs this year, according to multiple reports.
The Seattle Times reports that the company’s gaming division, including Xbox, is bearing the brunt of the cuts.
“To position Gaming for long-term success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we’re ending or scaling back work in certain areas of the business,” Xbox chief Phil Spencer wrote in a message to employees. “We’re also following Microsoft’s broader effort to streamline layers of management to improve agility and effectiveness.”
This latest round of job reductions follows several waves of layoffs throughout the year. In May, Microsoft announced more than 6,000 job cuts, followed by another 305 layoffs in early June. Earlier in January, 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox were let go, and in May, the company shut down several game studios. Another 1,000 roles were eliminated in June across its HoloLens and Azure cloud teams.
Back in September 2023, Microsoft also laid off 650 Xbox employees as part of restructuring efforts tied to its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, The Verge reported.
Despite the layoffs, Spencer emphasized that the gaming division remains strong.
“These changes come at a time when we have more players, more games, and more gaming hours than ever before,” he said. “Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never been stronger. The success we’re seeing now is the result of hard decisions made in the past. We have to continue making difficult choices to ensure sustained success in the years ahead.”
He added, “We will protect what’s thriving and focus our energy on the areas with the most potential. That way, we can deliver world-class games and experiences for players for generations to come.” (Source: IANS)
