Techrights Analysis: The Latest Microsoft Layoffs Are Broader and Worse Than They Seem
It is not about Activision Blizzard, which has its own issues and fears, it is about Microsoft's XBox sales reportedly collapsing like its 'sales' of Windows
THIS past day we've analysed dozens of headlines, summaries and articles (about 50 in total) concerning the latest wave of Microsoft layoffs - the biggest in technology so far this year (going by "official" numbers). The media will soon "move on" to covering other layoffs.
To give the gist of our findings, articles serve to "indicate that Microsoft has let go of the team responsible for bringing physical media to retail," quoting this new report (article referencing others). We saw the same in a couple more sites (links in IRC and in upcoming Daily Links). This is a very big deal. Remember Microsoft Stores? Same thing. Where are they now? "Pivoting" to "online"? Like "pivot to video"? "Pivot to "Hey Hi"..." (AI)? To "metaverse"?
"The mass layoffs from Microsoft include nearly the entire customer support branch of Activision Blizzard, leaving many games without moderation," says this other article. Even whole games got canceled, according to about half a dozen reports.
We keep seeing reports about deep cuts in XBox, gloomy predictions for XBox as a whole, and reports of many managers leaving, executives leaving (hard to keep track of them all) and even some famous chiefs getting the boot (fired).
The media will soon shift its focus, so let's keep focusing on Microsoft, which will fire a lot more than 2,000 people (they probably chose the number 1,900 because it looks better than 2[something] and not as laughable as 1,999 or 1,990). This happens only weeks after "soft layoffs" in Activision (happening since last year, according to insiders) and reports of Xbox sales collapsing.
This article of ours from last summer aged well: Why Microsoft Was Trying to Buy Activision and 'Look Big' in 2022 (XBox Was Failing, XBox as a Whole Might Die Soon) █