Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees worldwide, with Xbox and other divisions affected. The cuts account for nearly 4% of its global workforce.
Microsoft has confirmed another large round of layoffs, impacting thousands of employees across its global workforce, and yes, Xbox teams are part of it.
According to a report from Variety, the company is cutting jobs that affect just under 4% of its total staff. That works out to almost 9,000 people worldwide, based on Microsoft’s workforce of roughly 228,000. While exact numbers for the Xbox division weren’t given, it’s clear that the cuts include teams at Microsoft Gaming.
In a statement shared earlier today, a Microsoft spokesperson said, “We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace.”
This announcement comes just after Xbox CEO Phil Spencer sent a company-wide message confirming internal restructuring and layoffs. Spencer said the gaming division would be “removing layers of management” and focusing on what’s working, while stepping away from areas that aren’t delivering.
So far, we know that around 200 people have already been let go at King, the mobile studio behind Candy Crush. Cuts have also hit ZeniMax Media’s marketing teams in London and Rockville, Maryland. More layoffs are expected in the U.S., though Microsoft hasn’t released specific numbers for those teams yet.
This is now the fourth major layoff wave at Microsoft Gaming in the last 18 months. Past rounds affected teams across Activision Blizzard King and even resulted in full studio closures, like Arkane Austin earlier this year.
