More Microsoft Layoffs Reported Today
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Report: Activision Blizzard is expected to cut 136 jobs from its Cork office
"Companies should not be allowed to announce life-changing cutbacks and refuse to talk to representatives."
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Xbox and Embracer’s mass layoff explanations aren’t good enough
The wave of layoffs that has happened over the past year in the video game industry is well-documented. Some of the biggest culprits are Embracer Group, which has laid off nearly 1,400 workers across several of its studios since the start of a restructuring program last July, and Microsoft, which laid off 1,900 developers across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard in January. After relative silence around these layoffs, leadership at both companies finally tried to offer more transparently into what happened.
While both Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors and Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer tried to sound more compassionate about letting go so many developer, those sentiments lack meaning when their focus is still on infinite growth and profitability. There’s a disconnect between the workers and the leadership at these companies, one that these lacking statements have begun to unveil.