'Soft Layoffs' at Microsoft
Days ago: The Rumour Was Apparently Correct, Pre-Christmas Microsoft Layoffs in Middle of December
THE classic Human Resources (HR) tricks which cause many people to resign (like shaking a tree, seeing what fruit or cones fall and which stay/remain) are being embraced by Microsoft. According to this report from 9 hours ago: "Microsoft Corp.'s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Quality Assurance (QA) workers within Activision are protesting a new return-to-office mandate, labeling it a "soft layoff" and fearing it will force many employees out of the company. [...] The ABK Workers Alliance argues that these changes disregard the needs of vulnerable employees and unfairly force individuals out, likening it to a 'soft layoff.'"
Here is their letter (skip the social control media stuff):
This is a well known HR tactic (there are others, including variants) for layoffs without officially calling it "layoffs". You do something that you know many employees will abhor (intentionally, very much so). No need for Microsoft to hide layoffs under the "contractor" umbrella. Just call it "great resignation" or something to that effect.
Three weeks ago Irish media published "One in three staff at Activision Blizzard’s Irish unit fears cuts after Microsoft acquisition"; these fears are well-founded.
That's more like 4 in 10 (rather than 1 in 3). To quote: "A new survey of staff at the company, seen by this publication, shows that 37 per cent of workers fear layoffs as a result of the Microsoft acquisition, which completed in 2022 after a lengthy battle..."
The paywall can be bypassed by turning to this archived copy. To quote more: "On the Microsoft acquisition, 37 per cent said a possible outcome of Microsoft’s takeover would be job losses, while 31 per cent said they thought nothing would change for workers and 24 per cent said it would improve working conditions." █