Jason Schreier of Bloomberg has reported that Microsoft is now facing large scale lay offs which includes Microsoft's game divisions.
Microsoft has announced that nearly 9,000 jobs have been eliminated, following the 6,000 which were cut back in May. When asked about this by Bloomberg, Microsoft Gaming Chief Executive Officer Phil Spencer responded with the following quote:
“To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.”
Additionally, an anonymous source sent the following quote to Windows Central, which was taken from an email sent out to Microsoft Staff by Phil Spencer.
Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.
I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.
Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.
HR is working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition. Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given priority review.
Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.
Additionally we reached out and received the following statement as well:
“We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace.” - a Microsoft spokesperson
They further stated:
- The overall impact represents less than 4% of Microsoft's global workforce
- The reductions span levels, teams, geographies and tenure
- Confirming that gaming is impacted (but not the majority); we will not provide specifics out of respect for employees at this time.
Studios that have been impacted have not been authorized to speak to the press, but we should learn more over the following days to even weeks. The Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax has stated they were impacted, with at least one project already being canceled.
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