Microsoft Under Investigation as Thousands of Gaming Employees Depart, Prompting Layoffs
Microsoft finally decided to buy Activision Blizzard, but the company decided to cut thousands of employees from the game division to accommodate the changes. Microsoft is now facing questions over its decision to lay off around 1,900 workers, something antitrust authorities had feared when they granted the contract an extension.
Concerns have been shared by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which believes that Microsoft is making drastic changes to the recently acquired company that could have a major impact on the company’s future and thousands of employees losing their jobs.
The decision to lay off employees also has a big impact on the people leading the Activision Blizzard team, as well as the core team that has been working on the gaming giant’s future projects. Microsoft reportedly cited business decisions and the need to reallocate resources to projects with greater growth potential in the future as the reason for the layoffs.
Regulators will no doubt be concerned about the timing of these layoffs right after the deal. However, Microsoft is not the only tech giant that has been bothering employees lately. Google, Meta, Amazon and other tech companies have seen layoffs in recent months, and the warning from most of these brands suggests more layoffs are expected through 2024 as they realign their business strategies with AI.
The Microsoft-Activision deal may have been agreed because it appears that the FTC is closely monitoring the progress of the merged company and any potential red flag could spell trouble for the companies in the future.
