The wave of layoffs continues in the industry and now Microsoft will make a move that will affect thousands of employees at Xbox, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. The tech giant confirmed that it will lay off 1,900 workers in its gaming division this week.
According to details, this represents approximately 8% of the workforce of Microsoft Gaming, which has about 22,000 workers. Phil Spencer, CEO of the division said that this is a "painful decision" that had to be made to align with a new sustainable cost strategy.
"The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here. We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues.
"Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I’m as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together," Spencer said in a statement.
Blizzard to lose key executives after layoffs
The bad news doesn't end there, as Blizzard will lose important creatives and managers. For starters, Mike Ybarra, the studio's current president, has decided to leave the company. This was reported by Matt Booty, president of studios and game content at Microsoft.
Microsoft is expected to elect a new president for the company next week. On the other hand, Allen Adham, Blizzard's design director and co-founder, will also leave the studio. Thus, the company will lose some very important executives as well as several of its talented developers.
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