Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees from Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and Zenimax teams. That’s roughly eight percent of the company’s workforce in the gaming department, which has around 22,000 employees at the moment. The latest news comes right after Microsoft reached $3 trillion market capitalization, becoming the second company, after Apple, to achieve the milestone. Losing a job is very painful, and our heart goes out to all the people who are being affected by this decision.
The Verge has obtained an internal memo from the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer. From what I could gather from the memo, the company is taking this step as a part of the restructuring process, which includes aligning strategies of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard, creating a sustainable cost structure, and eliminating overlapping roles. Here are Phil's exact words:
“As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth. As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team.”
Blizzard’s top officials are also leaving Microsoft
Along with that, Mike Ybarra, the President at Blizzard Entertainment, and Allen Adham, the Chief Design Officer at Blizzard Entertainment are also leaving Microsoft. The Verge obtained an internal memo from the Head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft, Matt Booty, on the matter, and this is what he had to say about two of them leaving.
“As many of you know, Mike previously spent more than 20 years at Microsoft. Now that he has seen the acquisition through as Blizzard’s president, he has decided to leave the company. As we move forward, we will continue to build on the positive momentum that Mike created and strive to continue exceeding the expectations of Blizzard’s players. I want to thank Mike for his leadership and for his partnership and counsel since the deal closed. I know he plans to travel and spend more time with his family. We wish him the very best.
“Additionally, Allen Adham, Blizzard’s Chief Design Officer, is leaving the company. As one of Blizzard’s cofounders, Allen has had a broad impact on all of Blizzard’s games. His influence will be felt for years to come, both directly and indirectly as Allen plans to continue mentoring young designers across the industry. The new Blizzard President will be announced next week.”
This month, multiple other companies in the technology space, including Discord, eBay, Google, Humane, Riot Games, Twitch, and Unity, announced job cuts. Needless to say, hiring is also on freeze. We are only a few days into the new year and 2024 is already looking like a bad period for the global economy.
