Microsoft is gearing up for yet another round of layoffs. The tech giant is reportedly going to cut jobs in the Xbox division next week as part of its organisation-wide restructuring. Managers in its Xbox division are anticipating substantial cuts, according to a report by Bloomberg. However, there is no official announcement yet.
This would be the company’s fourth round of layoffs in the past 18 months. Three major cuts in 2024 have already led to closure of several subsidiaries. Xbox reportedly has been under severe pressure from Microsoft executives to amp up its profit margins ever since it acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023 for $69 billion.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the company was planning to cut thousands of jobs especially in sales. This is seen as a part of its latest move to cut down its workforce as it pumps billions of dollars into AI development and infrastructure such as data centres. Microsoft is planning to enact these layoffs in early July after the end of its fiscal year. The job cuts may not solely impact sales teams, and its schedule may change.
When it comes to Microsoft’s gaming division, the company laid off 650 employees in September 2024. These job cuts were announced by Xbox chief Phil Spencer who, in an internal memo, stated that the development was owing to the post-acquisition team structure. These roles were mostly corporate and supporting functions.
This would be the second massive layoff. In May, the company had announced job cuts impacting over 6,000 people mostly from product and engineering positions. However, back then sales and marketing teams were spared. As of June 2024, the company had 228,000 workers out of which 45,000 in sales and marketing.
Overall, the tech industry has been reeling from mass layoffs. As of June 26, 2025 as many as 147 companies have laid off 63,443 employees as per layoffs.fyi, a site that tracks layoffs in real time.
This is the year Intel has laid off the most employees. In April, it was reported that the company had plans to cut nearly 20 per cent of its staff which amounts to about 22,000 positions. The company claimed that the layoffs were a part of its broader strategy to streamline management and rebuild an engineering-driven culture.
