Microsoft cutting more jobs from its gaming unit
SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft is cutting about 650 more positions from its gaming unit as it continues to tighten its belt following the blockbuster buyout of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard.
The elimination of mostly corporate and support roles across Microsoft Gaming is intended to “organize our business for long-term success” in the aftermath of the $69 billion acquisition, unit chief Phil Spencer told employees in a memo viewed by AFP.
“Today is one of the challenging days,” Spencer said in the memo. “I know that going through more changes like this is hard.”
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) labor union, which includes members in the video game industry, called the layoffs “extremely disappointing,” coming on the heels of Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary Bungie announcing 220 layoffs in July.
‘Heartless’
“Heartless layoffs like these have become all too common,” World of Warcraft senior producer and CWA member Samuel Cooper said in a release by the labor organizers.
Microsoft in January said it was laying off 1,900 people, or eight percent of staff, from its gaming division as it consolidated the buyout of Activision Blizzard.
Spencer told employees at the time that Microsoft and Activision were committed to finding a “sustainable cost structure” to grow the gaming business, which employed 22,000 people and includes the Xbox division.
