There Are Thousands More Microsoft Layoffs (Including Silent Layoffs), Not Hundreds

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Sep 22, 2026

Reading the news today, one may be tempted to think the press is finally, belatedly, writing about the non-stop mass layoffs at Microsoft.

But no...

These are Microsoft-controlled messages, and accompanying disclosures, that speak of ~300 people: (some of the sites that cover this are sponsored by Microsoft and constantly spin the layoffs)

• Microsoft cuts hundreds more jobs, shifts next ’Halo' game to Activision in Xbox overhaul - GeekWire

• Microsoft Starts a New Round of Job Cuts - Business Insider

• Microsoft is laying off 268 Xbox staffers and Ninja Theory may close | The Verge

• Xbox Continues "Reset" With Additional Layoffs And Restructuring

• Microsoft lays off 268 Xbox employees in Washington state - OPB

• Microsoft cuts 300 more Washington jobs as gaming division continues its restructuring

• Microsoft layoffs hit hundreds in WA again, Xbox roles included

• All The Major Xbox Changes Microsoft Announced Today: Layoffs, Halo Goes To Activision, And Lots More

Microsoft’s “reset” of the Xbox business continued today with the announcement of another giant wave of changes and restructuring to help the business become more successful in the future, or at least that’s the plan. The major moves included more layoffs, the planned closure of another developer, and a significant shakeup for the Halo franchise, among others.

• Microsoft Began A New Round Of Layoffs Affecting Around 500 Employees - Business Insider — TradingView News

How about the PIPs?

For a more complete picture see:

2026-02-19	Mass Layoffs (But Silent Layoffs) Still Happening in IBM, You Need Only Look Closely (There Are NDAs, PIPs, 'Early Retirement' Sweeteners and IBM - Like Microsoft - Skirts the WARN Act)
2026-03-11	Quiet Layoffs or Silent Layoffs Alleged at Microsoft
2026-03-13	Reminder: Microsoft silent Layoffs by RTO (Commute Time and Lack of Comfort/Work Satisfaction) Already in Effect This Year
2026-03-14	Layoffs in Twitter, Facebook, and Microsoft's LinkedIn
2026-03-23	Microsoft Downgraded on Concerns (Lack of Growth) Amid Silent Layoffs in 2026
2026-03-26	Microsoft's "Silent Layoffs" in Slop Clothing
2026-03-26	Microsoft Lost 31% Of Its Alleged "Value" in Five Months, Then It Got Downgraded
2026-05-29	Silent Layoffs at Microsoft in 2026
2026-06-27	Left IBM After Many Years, Came to Microsoft/XBox, Now Silent Layoffs at XBox
2026-06-27	Next Week's "Bloodbath" at Microsoft Includes "Silent Layoffs" (Which Microsoft Won't Count)
2026-07-01	"Regular Silent Layoffs and PIPs" at Microsoft, According to Microsoft Insider
2026-07-02	Silent Layoffs, 'Happy' Layoffs, and 'Buyouts' (Pretending to Voluntarily Retire)
2026-07-18	PIP-Styled Mass Layoffs Allegedly Coming to Microsoft by 12 August 2026
2026-07-28	At Microsoft, PIPs Are Sometimes Known as "LITE" (a Silent Layoffs Legal Hack or a Shrewd Workaround to Skirt WARN Act)
2026-08-01	August 2026 Microsoft Layoffs Are "Secret Layoffs" or "Silent Layoffs"
2026-08-04	Rumours of Silent Layoffs in Microsoft This Month (August 2026), PIPs and Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA), aka "Buyouts"
2026-08-13	'Voluntary' Layoffs (a Form of Silent Layoffs): Microsoft Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA) in August 2026 and September 2026
2026-08-15	Microsoft Silent Layoffs This Month (PIPs and More "Buyouts", Driving Out the Workforce), According to Insiders
2026-08-30	Microsoft Layoffs Perpetual But Silent, People Pushed Out Using Pressure or Incentive Schemes
2026-09-03	Microsoft "engineers who aren’t critical are let go" this week/month (silent layoffs)
2026-09-06	Links 06/09/2026: More XBox Trouble (Microsoft Unrest, Many Silent Layoffs This Month), John Duffy as Next USPTO General Counsel
2026-09-08	Microsoft's Silent Layoffs Are the New Normal at Microsoft
2026-09-14	Apple's iOS and macOS Measured as Bigger Than Windows in the US, Linux-Based OSes at Almost 30%
2026-09-15	Microsoft Layoffs in September 2026 Are Silent, Hidden

So yes, Microsoft does have layoffs and today is no exception (except Microsoft talks about it). █