Microsoft to Lay off 1,900 Employees Following Activision Blizzard Acquisition
Microsoft is embarking on a workforce reduction process after acquiring Activision Blizzard, which will affect 1,900 positions within the Xbox, ZeniMax, and the latest addition to the company’s family, departments. Although most of the layoffs will be within Activision Blizzard, the total number of affected employees accounts for 8% of Microsoft Gaming division.
Recent times have witnessed significant job cuts in the gaming industry, from Riot Games to Unity. Joining this trend, Microsoft Gaming is also taking steps to adapt to the prevailing conditions.
An internal memo, written by CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, and made available to The Verge, assures that the company will provide full assistance to those impacted by these changes. Specific means of support have not been specified yet.
In addition to the layoffs, Microsoft informed employees in a separate memo (also accessible to The Verge) about the departure of Mike Ybarra, President of Blizzard, and Allen Adham, the Principal Designer and Co-founder of Blizzard. Another memo states that a new President of Blizzard will be announced as early as next week.
Microsoft explains that the workforce reduction aims to eliminate duplication among the existing employees of the company, as well as those who were acquired through the merger with Activision Blizzard. The acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft for $68.7 billion is currently the most expensive acquisition in the history of the gaming industry.
On Wednesday, Microsoft briefly became the world’s most valuable company when its market value exceeded $3 trillion, but the day ended with a value just above $2.99 trillion.
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