{"id":32867,"date":"2025-07-02T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32867\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:07:12","slug":"microsoft-to-lay-off-thousands-xbox-chief-says-gaming-division-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/32867\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft to Lay Off Thousands; Xbox Chief Says Gaming Division Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMicrosoft<\/a> is set to layoff thousands of employees worldwide Wednesday, including some in the Microsoft Gaming\/Xbox<\/a> division. Variety has confirmed the total number of staff impacted is under 4% of Microsoft\u2019s global workforce, which totals approximately 228,000 employees. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,\u201d a Microsoft spokesperson said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTo position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to\u00a0focus on\u00a0strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft\u2019s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness,\u201d Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer said in a memo to staff Wednesday morning. \u201cOut of respect for those\u00a0impacted\u00a0today, the specifics of today\u2019s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAdditional details regarding the Microsoft layoffs and which divisions have been impacted (sources tell Variety that the cuts in gaming do not make up the majority) are expected to be shared later Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n\tSee below for Spencer\u2019s full memo to staff, which was sent Wednesday and obtained by Variety, announcing the company-wide layoffs and how they will impact Xbox below.<\/p>\n

\n\tToday we are sharing decisions that will\u00a0impact\u00a0colleagues\u00a0across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to\u00a0focus on\u00a0strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft\u2019s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those\u00a0impacted\u00a0today, the specifics of today\u2019s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I recognize that these\u00a0changes\u00a0come at a time\u00a0when we have more players, games, and gaming hours\u00a0than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger.\u00a0The success\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0seeing currently is based on tough decisions\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0made previously.\u00a0We\u00a0must\u00a0make choices\u00a0now for continued success in future\u00a0years\u00a0and a\u00a0key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the\u00a0expectations the company has for our business.\u00a0This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prioritizing our\u00a0opportunities\u00a0is\u00a0essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are\u00a0impacted.\u00a0These decisions are\u00a0not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved.\u00a0Our momentum is not accidental\u2014it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

HR is\u00a0working directly with impacted employees to provide severance plan benefits (aligned with local laws), including pay, healthcare coverage, and job placement resources to support their transition.\u00a0Employees whose roles were eliminated are encouraged to explore open positions across Microsoft Gaming, where their applications will be given\u00a0priority\u00a0review.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thank you to everyone who has shaped our culture, our products, and our community. We will move forward with deep appreciation and respect for all who have contributed to this journey.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Phil\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Microsoft is set to layoff thousands of employees worldwide Wednesday, including some in the Microsoft Gaming\/Xbox division. Variety…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,252,67,132,68,3768],"class_list":{"0":"post-32867","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-microsoft","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us","13":"tag-xbox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114784268726312201","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}