August Hits Microsoft Hard: Dead Divisions, Dead Products, Layoffs Again (on Week 1)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Aug 06, 2025

Just yesterday: Stricter Enforcement of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is Sorely Needed

Today after midnight:

So KIRO7 (local news) says "Microsoft to lay off 40 workers in Redmond" (blocked outside the US or anywhere in EU/UK) and some more publishers are saying the same today [1,2]. How many Microsoft layoffs so this month outside Redmond? We just don't know. They don't say. Maybe 1,000 in total, but they gag those impacted.

This month's layoffs aside (we don't yet know their full scale and scope), there are rants today from a pro-Microsoft site. It seems like it's really getting angry at Microsoft as products/services go offline [3] ("UPDATE (4PM UK, August 6, 2025): Since writing this article, the Xbox Design Lab came fully back online. I assume that I manifested this into existence, maybe. The Xbox Gear Shop however, is still offline.")

Maybe this is not a mistake. See [4] from the same site: "Silence. Actual silence."

Microsoft is shutting things down. In response to the report "Microsoft feels like the new Sega - why the recent studio closures feel like the collapse of the Xbox ecosystem" somebody wrote some hours ago: "You'll own nothing and you'll be happy."

XBox was all along about DRM. You own not even your own console that you paid for (and Microsoft sold at a loss).

In the name of cost-saving, as Microsoft's debt is soaring, Microsoft will continue to shut down loads of things. Remember Skype? █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. Microsoft continues layoff spree with dozens of job cuts in Washington

   The wave of layoffs seems to continue unabated. Redmond-based tech giant Microsoft has reportedly laid off about 40 of its Washington-based employees. The fresh round of layoffs comes at a time when Microsoft has been investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI). Although fewer in number, the latest cuts were across the company, the company said.

2. Microsoft Cuts 40 More Jobs Amid Ongoing Mass Layoffs Amid AI [sic] Boom [sic]; Internet Blames H1B1 Hires

   In its ongoing massive layoff spree, Microsoft has axed 40 more jobs in its Washington Headquarters. The current round of job cuts was disclosed by the tech giant in its state filing on Monday.

   Independent consultant Amanda Goodall, in her tweet, claimed that laid-off Microsoft employees reached out stating their ordeals. One techie remarked, “We were told not to post on LinkedIn. Not to say anything." Another quipped, "I worked for Microsoft for 15+ years. My crime? Being over 55."

3. Xbox Gear Store Offline: What's Behind the Restructuring and Future Plans?

   The Xbox Gear Shop is (or was) a place where Xbox fans could buy branded Xbox merchandise, both celebrating Xbox itself and Microsoft's various video game properties. Things like the notorious Xbox Fridge were sold there, as well as t-shirts, socks, and other bits and bobs.

4. Hey, Xbox, just what in the heck is going on with Forza Motorsport? — Players deserve answers, not silence

   It's more than a month since reports surfaced suggesting the dire state of Turn 10 Studios, makers of Forza Motorsport, and the equally dire outlook for the future of the franchise.

   Since then? Silence. Actual silence.

   As has been highlighted by Klobrille on X, and commented upon by our own Jez Corden, there hasn't been a single post on the brand's social media since July 10.