At the beginning of 2024, Microsoft announced it would be laying off 1,900 people, most of them from its games division, and nearly half of them ended up being people who came to the company through Xbox’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard King.
Unfortunately, Microsoft is starting 2025 in a similar way, with more layoffs confirmed, this time across multiple divisions, and not just games, but including games. After Business Insider first reported the layoffs, Microsoft confirmed the news but would not disclose a final number of those impacted.
CNBC reports that a source told them the layoff will impact 1% of Microsoft’s staff. The report goes on to say that as of June 2024, Microsoft had as many as 228,000 employees. The best guess then, is that this layoff has impacted at least 2,000 people.
“At Microsoft we focus on high-performance talent. We are always working on helping people learn and grown. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC.
In September 2024, Microsoft confirmed another 650 people would be laid off, again from its games business. Before the first month of 2025 is over, Microsoft has almost matched its layoff number from 2024.
Source – [Business Insider, CNBC via GamesIndustry.Biz]