Microsoft has confirmed workforce reductions impacting approximately 3% of its total employee base.
According to CNBC, Microsoft employed 228,000 people as of June 2024. The company's stated goal is to streamline management structures throughout its organization, a move expected to affect around 6,000 staff members.
In a statement provided to CNBC, a Microsoft spokesperson explained, “We are continuing to make strategic organizational adjustments to ensure the company is optimally positioned for success in a rapidly evolving market.”
IGN has reached out to Microsoft to determine whether these staff reductions will impact its video game division.
This follows a prior round of layoffs in September 2024, when an additional 650 jobs were eliminated from Microsoft's gaming operations, coming after roughly 1,900 roles were cut earlier in the same year. Those earlier cuts led to the closure of Tango Gameworks, the studio behind Hi-Fi Rush, and Arkane Austin, the developer of Redfall. In total, Microsoft has laid off 2,550 employees from its gaming division since its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023.
In a June 2024 interview with IGN, Xbox head Phil Spencer commented: “My responsibility is to manage a sustainable and growing business within the larger company, which sometimes involves making difficult decisions—choices I don't personally enjoy, but which are necessary for the health of the organization.”
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