Microsoft has announced a reduction of 3% of its workforce, affecting approximately 6,000 employees out of a total of 228,000 as reported by CNBC in June 2024. The company is focusing on streamlining management layers across all teams. A Microsoft spokesperson stated, "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace."
IGN has reached out to Microsoft to inquire if these cuts will impact its video game division. In related news, Microsoft made further cuts in September 2024, reducing its gaming business staff by an additional 650 employees. This follows the earlier layoffs of 1,900 staff in the same year, bringing the total number of job cuts in the gaming sector to 2,550 since the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023. As part of these reductions, Microsoft closed studios such as Tango Gameworks, the developer of Hi-Fi Rush, and Arkane Austin, known for Redfall.
In a conversation with IGN in June 2024, Xbox boss Phil Spencer commented on the layoffs, saying, "I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make."
This story is still developing.
