Microsoft Slashes 3% of Jobs, Impacts Thousands

Microsoft has announced a workforce reduction of 3% across its entire company, affecting approximately 6,000 employees out of its 228,000 total staff as reported by CNBC in June 2024. The tech giant is focusing on streamlining its management structure across all teams to better position itself in the competitive market.

A Microsoft spokesperson emphasized the necessity of these organizational changes, stating, "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 if these cuts extend to its video game division. In a separate development, Microsoft made further cuts to its gaming business in September 2024, reducing the workforce by an additional 650 employees. This follows an earlier reduction of 1,900 staff earlier in the year, leading to the closure of notable studios like Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. Since the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023, Microsoft has let go of a total of 2,550 employees from its gaming sector.

In a conversation with IGN in June 2024, Xbox head Phil Spencer addressed the challenges of running a sustainable business, 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."

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