Microsoft dismiss 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees

Microsoft has confirmed that it is firing 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees this week. The cuts represent about 8% of Big Tech’s general games division, which currently has about 22,000 employees.

In internal memorandum, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed the layoffs:

We made the painful decision to reduce the size of our game workforce by approximately 1,900 functions.

We will provide all our support those affected during the transition, including indemnity benefits informed by local labor laws.

Excerpt from the official statement issued by Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming

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“Looking to the future, we will continue to invest in areas that will expand our business and support our strategy of bringing more games more players worldwide,” Spencer added.

Although the company is mainly firing positions at Blizzard, some Xbox employees will also be affected by the cuts.

Blizzard President left the company and game was canceled

• In addition to the layoffs, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra also chose to leave the company. Microsoft is expected to appoint a new president next week.
• Allen Adham, design director at Blizzard, will not continue in the company either.
• A survival game announced by the company was also canceled as part of the changes.
• The information is from The Verge.

Laywriting occurs the same month as companies such as Riot Games, Google, Discord, Twitch, Unity, Ebay and others also announced cuts. The last time Microsoft announced great layoffs was a year ago, affecting 10,000 employees.

It is worth remembering that Microsoft has completed the acquisition of the game company for $ 68.7 billion in October, after 20 months of battles with regulators. The software manufacturer is expected to publicize its second -quarter 2024 tax profits next week, which will include the results of the impact of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.