Xbox cut 1,600 jobs on Monday, July 6 and will axe a further 3,200 jobs throughout the 2027 financial year – this comes after major job cuts at the video game company just two years earlier
Technology giant Microsoft has carried out massive job cuts as part of a restructure, with its video game arm the worst affected.
About 3,200 people will leave Xbox this financial year, with 1,600 being let go as of on Monday, July 6.
Amy Coleman, executive vice president of Microsoft, wrote in a memo to staff that on Monday: “Today we are eliminating around 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of our global workforce, as we focus our people, investments, and energy on the priorities that will keep Microsoft positioned to deliver for customers in a fast-changing industry.
“Our business is changing because the world around it is changing.”
She said that roles eliminated on Monday are not being replaced by AI, but at the same time, AI is changing how work gets done.
The changes within the company mostly fall within its Commercial and Xbox organisations.
Asha Sharma, who recently took over as chief of Xbox also told staff the worldwide cuts marked the beginning of “the most significant restructure in Xbox history.”
She wrote in a statement on X: “After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27.
“This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management.
“I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges.
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.”
As part of the restructure, four Xbox game development studios will be spun off. The studios are: Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions, Ninja Theory and Undead Lab, The Sun reports.
In 2024, Xbox cut 2,000 job roles and Microsoft cut 9,000 job roles just last year after it ramped up investment in AI.
