Xbox is planning a major wave of layoffs next month, according to a Bloomberg report.
This comes from multiple sources speaking to Bloomberg, who said the layoffs are expected after the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year on June 30, alongside other spending cuts to marketing and other areas. The number of individuals who will be impacted is not yet known.
In an email allegedly sent to employees today, CEO Asha Sharma said that the division had spent $20 billion on content investments in the last five years, not including Activision Blizzard King (which cost Microsoft $69 billion). However, its annual revenue declined “nearly half a billion” over the same period.
“We expanded our studio system when we needed a pipeline of content to meet multiple strategies across subscription, streaming and devices,” Sharma continued. “In the process, we have found ourselves over extended as we executed on changing strategies in a landscape of more readily available content. We are the fortunate stewards of industry-defining franchises that have enormous potential and player demand, but we have not adequately funded them to compete and win. At the same time, as we saw this past weekend at Showcase, a reliable pipeline of first- and third-party exclusives and new IP are critical to our success. We need to reassess the balance between these and our investment priorities for the next 5 years.”
Developing…
