In another round of layoffs, Microsoft is letting go of 650 employees in its gaming division today. The latest cuts come months after the tech giant laid off around 1900 employees from its Activision Blizzard and Xbox units.
This also comes after the closure of several gaming studios like Redfall developer Arkane Austin.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, announced the news of layoffs to the employees in an internal memo. The memo is seen by the Verge.
The new layoffs are related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and Phil makes it clear in his email that “no games, devices, or experiences are being canceled.” He also mentions that no studios are being closed as part of the layoffs.
Here is what he says in the memo.
“As part of aligning our post-acquisition team structure and managing our business, we have made the decision to eliminate approximately 650 roles across Microsoft Gaming — mostly corporate and supporting functions — to organize our business for long-term success.”
As everyone knows Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. This gaming acquisition of Activision Blizzard was completed in October last year. The company had to battle the regulators of the UK and US in order to complete this deal.
“Throughout our team’s history, we have had great moments, and we have had challenging ones,” wrote Phil Spencer, chief executive of Microsoft Gaming, in an email announcing the cuts. “Today is one of the challenging days. I know that going through more changes like this is hard, but even in the most trying times, this team has been able to come together and show one another care and kindness as we work to continue delivering for our players. We appreciate your support as we navigate these changes and we thank you for your compassion and respect for each other.”
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