Microsoft's last round of extreme layoffs left about 9,000 workers suddenly without a job and stunned, especially since they say disaster could have been avoided if the Xbox owner just reduced its AI investments instead.
Tom Warren at The Verge reports that, according to sources familiar with the matter, Microsoft executives "had the choice" to either crater its workforce once again or minimize its spending on AI tech for the next fiscal year – and it apparently sided with the machines.
Both current and former employees seem too exhausted with what feels like the video game industry's insatiable appetite for suffering – this year has been a pantry full of job loss and game death – to act surprised. On LinkedIn, Xbox user research specialist Chantal Van den bussche writes in a recent post, "The recent Microsoft layoffs hit hard, and I am lucky enough to still have a job. My friends and coworkers, not so much."
"I am deeply saddened," continues Van den bussche, "I can't believe how deep the cuts run."
Microsoft veteran Tom Sears, who worked at the company for 25 years before leaving in 2023, shares a similar sentiment on LinkedIn: "Layoffs often get framed as restructuring, but what's being lost is deeper: institutional memory, process clarity, and thoughtful leadership," he says.
"This is not your father's or mother's Microsoft," Sears concludes.
While announcing layoffs earlier this month, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer informed employees that "our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger." But Sears likely disagrees, sharing in his post that "I am extremely disappointed with MSFT. Without question, they can do much better than what they are doing right now."
