Microsoft Corporation is set to conduct fresh round of layoffs next week amid a company-wide restructuring bid. The ‘substantial’ cuts will affect the entire Xbox division — the fourth big layoffs to hit the team in the past 18 months. The revelation also comes days after reports indicated that Microsoft is set to eliminate many posts within the sales division and other customer facing roles. The tech giant has eliminated nearly 7,000 workers over the past two months from various segments.
According to a Bloomberg report, managers within the Xbox team are expecting substantial cuts across the entire group. The team — which produces video-game hardware and software — has been under pressure from Microsoft executives to boost profit margins since the $69 billion deal to purchase Activision Blizzard Inc in 2023. Microsoft Xbox saw three major cuts last year as well as the closure of several subsidiaries.
The company had fired 1,900 employees at Activision Blizzard and Xbox in January 2024, and later cut another 650 jobs in its Xbox gaming unit in September that year. The division was also included in other layoff rounds that took place over the past few years — impacting thousands of employees.
The update also comes days after reports indicated that the company was planning to reduce thousands of jobs in July this year. This comes after approximately 6,000 layoffs in May. As per a Bloomberg report, the upcoming eliminations will mainly target the sales division and other customer-facing roles. Microsoft had indicated plans to use third-party firms to handle more software sales to small and mid-sized customers earlier in April.
