Satya Nadella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, shared a letter to employees this morning that confirmed the Windows maker was planning to lay off as many as 10,000 workers. While the executive declined to specify what divisions would be impacted, Bloomberg seems to have some of the specifics, having shared a follow-up report this afternoon that claims the layoffs extend to 343 Industries and Bethesda Game Studios—the developers behind the Halo series and Starfield, respectively. Veteran employees who have been with Xbox for over a decade are reportedly affected.
From a Bloomberg report:
The Xbox-maker said Wednesday it’s cutting 10,000 jobs as it seeks to reduce costs amid a broader economic slowdown. Some people at Bethesda Game Studios, maker of the upcoming Starfield, as well as 343 Industries, the company behind 2021’s Halo Infinite, were affected, according to people familiar with the matter. Some of those who lost their jobs were veterans who had been with Xbox for more than a decade, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The scale of the cuts in the gaming division wasn’t completely clear. Microsoft said it still plans to hire people in strategic, competitive areas, such as artificial intelligence, but many other departments were losing staff, including its HoloLens goggles business and some engineering divisions, Bloomberg reported.
Rumors from earlier this week have suggested that Starfield is going to be delayed again, possibly to the second half of 2023. The game was originally supposed to be released in November 2021. As for the Halo series, 343 Industries continues to deliver new content for Halo Infinite, such as the newly launched Joint Fire Event, which lasts until January 31 and grants players the ability to earn Halo: Reach-themed rewards.
Discussion (11 replies)
Join Discussion →That right there is kind of sleazy if true. I mean some people might get tired and start dragging ass. But in a lot of cases they are making top of line for the pay grade and they don't want to bump them up so they fire them instead of getting complaints.
So MS is still moving forward to buy Blizzard/Activision (Blacktivision? :) ) for a jillion dollars, but is now also laying off 10k people. Makes perfect sense ?♂️
I thought the same thing. I guess we know where some of that money will be coming from.
It's such a shitty thing to let go loyal employees, and then replace them with flying monkeys just out of college, who will probably get up and out at the first opportunity anyway. Ppl these days seem to pride themselves on how many employers they had. To me if you move to a new company every 6 months that just shows you are unreliable.
Honestly that's a generational thing and in my mind a professionalism thing.
I've talked to developers that want to be contractors forever. And I just don't get it. I think they all fear corporate malfeasance and think being a contractor protects them.
I don't know how being a contractor protects you. It only has downsides and no upsides. Easier to get rid of you, you get no benefits, no protections, no overtime pay, no health insurance.
When I was naive and wanted to work in the VG industry being a contractor was forced on you by the companies. We hire you on minimum wage, or you accept being a contractor, those were your options as a fresh face.
I don't get it either. I've been both and contractor maybe paid well upfront but without benefits it didn't balance out. Also the contractors were always given the sh!t jobs and were the first to be let go in case of re-org or RIF. In my 20's I didn't care (what is healthcare? I'm never sick!) but now.... no thanks. Direct hire or contract to perm with details in writing for conversion.
Maybe "independent" contractor, work for yourself? But still you're taking jobs for clients so technically....
The only thing I can think of is that not everything you do as a contractor is automatically owned by the company, only the end product you contracted for. But most contracts have a clause that any intermediate product generated is not re-usable by you, so ganz egal.
Every 6 months is a little often, but you should be updating your resume and interviewing at places every 18months ish. A new employer will generally pay better than what your current one will give you as a raise, and a new job will generally net you a 20% to 30% raise. Not shopping tells your boss that you're willing to not get paid as much as you're worth because it's inconvenient to interview.
Inteview, get your offer, and then tell your boss what's up. It's all up side for you - either your current place beats the existing offer or you go get paid more somewhere else.
There was a time when I interviewed, when I was very unsatisfied with my situation. But I have very serious social anxiety, so it is always a last resort. I even read and rewrite multiple times the most simplest of emails. And to lift the phone to call someone (even the closest friends and family) it has to be absolutely unavoidable for me.
Besides I like my work life balance as it is now, going somewhere else would undoubtedly mean much more work, and I don't want that even if they pay 50% more.
My brother flips jobs every other year. I don't know how he does it.
I was with my last employer for 8 years (military), and my current for 17.
I know the "life coach" advice is to continually leap frog, as the faster you can get the salary up, the higher it will go over time. I could probably go shopping around and make more money; maybe even a lot more money for what I do... but a) I'm kinda lazy and comfortable, b) I've got this job down to where it's auto-pilot, and c) It pays well enough that I'm comfortable, and while more money is always nice, I don't feel like I'm hurting badly for a lack of it. I'd rather have my good quality of life than more cash in the bank.