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Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard, Xbox staff: Report
- The cuts work out to roughly 8 percent of the overall Microsoft Gaming division, which stands at around 22,000 staff in total.
Microsoft is laying off around 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox this week, news website The Verge reported on 25 January, citing an internal memo from the head of the company's gaming division CEO Phil Spencer.
According to the report, though the tech firm is primarily laying off roles at Activision Blizzard, some Xbox and ZeniMax employees will also be impacted by the cuts.
The job cuts work out to roughly 8 percent of the overall Microsoft Gaming division, which stands at around 22,000 staff in total.
"It’s been a little over three months since the Activision, Blizzard, and King teams joined Microsoft. As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth," The Verge quoted Spencer confirming the layoffs.
"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 Gaming Leadership Team and I are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues," Spencer added.
"We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws. Those whose roles will be impacted will be notified, and we ask that you please treat your departing colleagues with the respect and compassion that is consistent with our values," Spencer added.
He concluded that the firm will continue to invest in areas that will grow business and support the strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world.
Blizzard president to leave firm:
Apart from this, Microsoft’s game content and studios president Matt Booty said in an internal memo that Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has decided to leave the company.
"As many of you know, Mike previously spent more than 20 years at Microsoft. Now that he has seen the acquisition through as Blizzard’s president, he has decided to leave the company,” The Verge quoted Booty as saying.
It is expected that Microsoft may name a new Blizzard president next week. In the meantime, Blizzard’s chief design officer Allen Adham is also leaving the firm.
“As one of Blizzard’s cofounders, Allen has had a broad impact on all of Blizzard’s games. His influence will be felt for years to come, both directly and indirectly as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers across the industry,” says Booty.
The latest layoff announcement by Microsoft comes the same month Riot Games, Google, Discord, Twitch, Unity, eBay, and others announced cuts. In 2023, Microsoft announced big layoffs, affecting 10,000 employees.
New appointments, promotions:
Sarah Bond has been promoted to Xbox president, leading all Xbox platform and hardware work, while Matt Booty was also promoted to president of game content and studios, which includes overseeing Bethesda, ZeniMax studios, and Activision Blizzard.
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First Published:25 Jan 2024, 08:08 PM IST
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