Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees
It has been revealed that Microsoft will lay off 1,900 employees from game maker Activision Blizzard, which
Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24049050/microsoft-activision-blizzard-layoffs
Microsoft has various game manufacturers under its umbrella, including Activision Blizzard, and all of these companies are supervised by the game division Microsoft Gaming . A total of 22,000 employees work at Microsoft Gaming, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer announced that he plans to lay off 1,900 employees, or about 8% of them. This is clear from the email sent to.
The overseas media The Verge has obtained an email sent by CEO Spencer to employees, and its contents are as follows.
More than three months have passed since the Activision Blizzard (Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, King) teams joined Microsoft. Looking ahead to 2024, Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard leadership are committed to aligning our strategy and execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that supports our growing business overall. We worked together to set priorities, identify areas of overlap, and ensure everyone was aligned on the best opportunities for growth.
As part of this process, we made the difficult decision to lay off approximately 1,900 of our team's 22,000 people. We are committed to navigating this process as thoughtfully as possible. Those directly affected by these layoffs have played a critical role in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and Xbox, and they should be proud of everything we've accomplished here. We are grateful for the creativity, passion, and dedication they bring to our games, users, and colleagues. Microsoft will provide full support to those affected during the transition, including severance benefits in accordance with local employment laws. Employees whose roles are affected will be notified. We also ask that you treat colleagues who are retiring with compassion and a history consistent with our company's values.
We will continue to invest in areas that grow Microsoft's business and support our strategy to bring more games to more players around the world. These are challenging times for our team, but we remain confident in your ability to create and cultivate games, stories, and worlds that connect players.
As part of this reduction in personnel, Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra will also be leaving the company. Matt Booty, president of game content and studios at Microsoft Gaming, said: 'As many of you may know, Mike previously spent more than 20 years at Microsoft, where he led acquisitions as president of Blizzard Entertainment. Now that I have completed my mission, I have decided to leave the company,'' he said, expressing his gratitude to Mr. Ibarra.
Mr. Ibarra revealed on his X account that he had left Blizzard Entertainment, and expressed his gratitude to the gaming community. Following Ybarra's departure, Microsoft plans to name a new president of Blizzard Entertainment.
I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players' lives. It's an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted – this is in no way a reflection…
— Mike Ybarra ???? (@Qwik) January 25, 2024
In addition, Allen Adham, Blizzard Entertainment's chief design officer, will also be leaving the company. 'As one of the co-founders of Blizzard Entertainment, Allen has had a far-reaching influence on all of our games,' Booty said. It will be felt directly and indirectly for many years.'
As a result, development of an untitled survival game announced by Blizzard Entertainment in 2022 has been halted. According to Polygon , Blizzard Entertainment described this survival game as ``a completely new survival game for PC and home game consoles.''
The last time Microsoft carried out large-scale layoffs was exactly one year ago, when it laid off about 10,000 people.
Microsoft decides to lay off 10,000 people, spending 154 billion yen in restructuring costs, the second largest layoff in history - GIGAZINE
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