Xbox Continues Its War on Developers as It Sacks 650 Employees With Many Waking up to the News
After January, Microsoft and Xbox have once again reduced their employee strength by firing 650 employees to restructure the team.
- Microsoft has announced its decision to fire 650 employees to overcome challenges.
- The Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, sent employees a memo, informing them about this decision at 3 AM on September 12.
- However, the CEO ensured that no games will be impacted during this transition, and it is not closing any studios.
After the pandemic, the gaming industry has been suffering through frequent ups and downs, and again, it seems to have come to a shaky situation where multiple gaming companies are reducing staff. In some cases, under-development games get affected, while in others, companies ensure no ongoing project gets impacted because of the layoffs.
Surprisingly, this layoff wave has even hit the giant names of the gaming world. Microsoft joined the list recently with its announcement of firing 650 employees from its gaming sector. Well, this is the second layoff wave Microsoft is going to execute this year, following a painful 1900 staff cut at the beginning of this year.
Microsoft’s Layoff Wave Continues With Phil Spencer Sending Memo to Staff
Major gaming companies are all going through a rough time, where a lot of them have been even closing certain studios to survive. However, Microsoft seems to be affected by this layoff storm the most. As part of its previous layoff wave, the company closed Tango Gameworks, the developer of Hi-Fi Rush, and Arkane Austin, the developer of Redfall. However, Krafton later saved Tango Gameworks to some extent.
It has only been a few months since that employee cut-off procedure, and once again, on September 12, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, sent his employees a memo that clearly mentioned,
“As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming.”
However, this announcement also states that the firing process will mostly affect employees who are in the “corporate and supporting functions.” He explained how these layoffs are inevitable to grow the company and survive the current situation.
Anyway, what concerned fans more as the news surfaced was the future of the games. That’s also what Phil Spencer clarified by saying no game is going to be harmed in the process, or it is not closing any studios.
Though Microsoft sent its ex-employees gifts after laying them off in January, it’s disappointing that people are still losing jobs months later.
Gamers Are Frustrated With Microsoft for Firing Employees in Massive Numbers
Job cuts are always disappointing and frustrating. Of course, Microsoft employees are also losing their peace after getting the memo sent to them by the CEO of the company. Particularly, the memo was sent at 3 AM (Seattle Time).
This has generated a negative reaction among Microsoft fans, as they have been sympathizing with the staff of the company.
Players even mentioned that Microsoft has messed up the most in 2024.
Some players are angry that the company is being managed by incompetent leaders, which causes these job cuts.
The current layoffs are because Microsoft is trying to align the teams after its acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023.
Now, the company is hoping to build a strong team, which requires a total transition.
The job cuts are the process of overcoming the current challenges and reaching the goal, as the memo suggests.
