The last few months have been catastrophic for the tech world. After Facebook and Twitter, it’s the turn of Microsoft to announce an exceptional wave of layoffs, which comes on top of the one that occurred last October. But this one is much more important, since it counts 10,000 employees who will lose their jobs within the next few weeks. And of course, this also applies to those who work within Xbox divisions, including Bethesda, as confirmed by Jason Schreier.
Exactly one year after the announcement of the acquisition of Activision
This sad news was confirmed this morning. Microsoft plans to part with 4.5% of its current staff, or 10,000 people, as of March 31. A wave of layoffs which certainly affects employees hired as reinforcements during the pandemic (Microsoft had carried out a lot of recruitment during this period) and which is a response to “ macroeconomic conditions and changes in consumer priorities according to Microsoft, via the mouth of Satya Nadella:
” These are tough choices we’ve made throughout our 47-year history to remain a consistent company in this industry that doesn’t forgive those who don’t adapt to change. We live in a time of significant change, and as I meet with customers and partners, some things are clear. First, while we’ve seen customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less. We also see organizations across all sectors and regions treading cautiously as some parts of the world are in recession and others are anticipating one. »
In short, it is the fault of the crisis, which still has a good back even if it is obviously more complex than that. It should be remembered that Microsoft’s results for fiscal year 2022 showed very high figures for the group, and even if the start of fiscal year 2023 saw more timid performances, particularly in the cloud sector, the company is far, very far from really needing such a restructuring to continue to keep the boat afloat, but it is necessary to caress the shareholders in the direction of the hair. Let’s also mention the rather strange timing of this announcement, which comes just a year after the announcement of the takeover of Activision-Blizzard.
We obviously wish good luck to all employees affected by the situation.