Following rumours earlier this week from the UK’s Sky News, tech giant Microsoft has announced a slew of layoffs affecting 10,000 workers, some within its game studios, blaming slowing e-commerce sales and a potential economic recession. Kotaku has confirmed that a number of developers at 343 Industries, The Coalition, and Bethesda Game Studios are being laid off.
According to a Bloomberg report, at least 878 positions in Microsoft’s Washington location have been cut. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company began notifying affected employees today, and plans to finish laying off the full 10,000 by Q3 of this year.
Nadella attempted to spin the layoffs in a blog post today, noting that the 10,000 cut jobs represent less than five per cent of the total workforce. He claimed the company will invest in “secular growth and long-term competitiveness” while providing support to folks impacted by the layoffs.
The CEO added that because customers “[optimised] their digital spend to do more with less,” some workforce reduction was necessary to align company cost and revenue with customer demands. However, he noted that Microsoft still plans to “hire in key strategic areas.”
When asked for comment, Microsoft pointed Kotaku to Nadella’s statement.
In recent times, affected studio 343 Industries has had its hands full supporting Halo Infinite, the latest entry in the long-running sci-fi FPS series. Bethesda, on the other hand, is hard at work on the upcoming space-faring epic Starfield, which will get a “standalone This slideshow could not be started. Try refreshing the page or viewing it in another browser.
Leave a Reply