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Microsoft toss another 650 jobs onto the layoff pyre in the name of “sustainable future growth"No game cancellations or studio closures involved
No game cancellations or studio closures involved
Image credit:Microsoft
Image credit:Microsoft
Not enough Microsoft jobs have been splayed and flayed atop the Altar of Growth, so High Priest Spencer must once again perform the Rite of Strategic Repositioning. According to a leaked memo, Microsoft are laying off around 650 people “to organize our business for long term success”. This is the same Microsoft thatparted with around 1900 employees in January, and the same Microsoft thatwashed their hands of around 10,000 staff in January 2023, all in the name of shoring up the business for future prosperity. That “long term success” is certainly taking its sweet time. Or at least, it is if you’re one of the poor saps in the trenches of, in this case, “corporate and supporting functions”.
As with the previous round of cuts, this latest bout of belt-tightening is the result of Microsoft needing to recover some ofthat money they spent inhaling Activision-Blizzard in 2023- a $69 billion deal that has necessitated the departure of about 2,550 staff to date.
“With these changes, our corporate and supporting teams and resources are aligned for sustainable future growth, and can better support our studio teams and business units with programs and resources that can scale to meet their needs,” the memo continues. “Separately, as part of running the business, there are some impacts to other teams as they adapt to shifting priorities and manage the lifecycle and performance of games.” Spencer doesn’t specify which games have been “impacted”, but he does add that “no games, devices or experiences are being cancelled and no studios are being closed as part of these adjustments today.”
