It wasn’t just 3,200 Xbox employees who were laid off this morning, they were among 4,800 who lost their jobs as part of the company’s restructuring efforts. This round of layoffs affects 2.1% of Microsoft’s global workforce.
Microsoft Vice President Amy Coleman said the employees being laid off today were not due to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). But they were due to changes in the industry and Microsoft’s customers.
In April, Microsoft reportedly offered early retirement to select employees. Last year, nearly 15,000 were laid off with AI being the reason given because automation was replacing humans.
At Xbox, 1,600 employees will lose their jobs today with another 1,600 laid off in the coming months. In addition, studios Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs and Arkane Lyon will also be sold.
