Microsoft Lays Off 3% of Employees, Impacting Thousands

Microsoft has announced a reduction of 3% of its workforce, which translates to approximately 6,000 employees out of its total of 228,000 as reported by CNBC in June 2024. The company aims to streamline its organizational structure by reducing management layers across all teams. A Microsoft spokesperson stated, "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace."

IGN has reached out to Microsoft to inquire whether these cuts will impact its video game division. In a separate development, Microsoft made further cuts in September 2024, letting go of an additional 650 staff members from its gaming business. This followed an earlier reduction of 1,900 employees in the same year, resulting in the closure of Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall developer Arkane Austin. Since acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in 2023, Microsoft has laid off a total of 2,550 employees from its gaming sector.

In June 2024, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke to IGN about these decisions, saying, "I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make."

This story is still developing.