Microsoft has confirmed the layoff of at least 1,900 employees from its recently acquired gaming giant, Activision Blizzard, as well as its own Xbox division.
This decision, affecting approximately 8 percent of the total Microsoft gaming workforce, comes in the wake of the tech behemoth’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October of last year.
Activision Blizzard aims at boosting its business in the video gaming market with best-selling titles, including “Call of Duty”, to better compete with industry leader Sony.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer addressed the substantial job cuts in an internal memo circulated on Thursday. “We have made the decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1,900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team.”
“Microsoft’s announcement that it will be laying off 1,900 video game workers makes clear that, even when you work at a successful company in an extremely profitable industry, your livelihood is not protected without a voice on the job,” Communications Workers of America (CWA) said.
Activision Blizzard President, Mike Ybarra, has chosen to depart from the company in light of these developments.
Mike Ybarra, who had already spent over two decades at Microsoft, including overseeing the transition following the Activision Blizzard acquisition, announced his departure.
Microsoft also said it will cancel survival game by Blizzard.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard faced regulatory scrutiny in both the UK and the US before its completion in October. The company underwent a reorganization of its Xbox gaming and marketing leadership in the same month. The Verge reported. The decision to significantly reduce the workforce has left many in the industry speculating about the future direction of Microsoft’s online gaming division.
The tech sector shed 168,032 jobs in 2023 and accounted for the highest number of layoffs across industries, according to a report by Challenger, Gray and Christmas earlier this month. That included more than 10,000 cuts at Microsoft.
