Oh man, where do I even begin with this Microsoft stuff? It’s like they woke up and thought, “Hey, let’s shake things up by axing a bunch of people.” Seriously, the Xbox division’s getting whacked this time, and boy, it’s like a storm swept through.
So, Bloomberg’s saying that King and ZeniMax are feeling the heat, and I guess other places might be next. It’s like waiting for a shoe to drop, only it’s an entire warehouse of shoes. Imagine being at one of these American companies right now, just holding your breath ’cause today’s the day they reveal who’s on the chopping block.
And get this—Microsoft’s giving the boot to something like four percent of its workers. That’s over 9,000 folks, as in, bye-bye paycheck. CNBC was all over it, spilling those numbers, and I just can’t wrap my head around it. Are they trimming the fat for some kind of Xbox kingdom vision? Is that the game plan? Who knows!
Then there’s Phil Spencer, the Xbox maestro. In a memo—because that’s how you break life-changing news, right?—he chats about cutting jobs to “position gaming for enduring success.” Um, hello? You’ve slashed jobs four times in a year and a half. What’s the deal, Phil? Are we on the brink of something epic for Xbox, or just spinning in circles?
Anyway—right—Spencer is out there saying they have more players and games and whatnot than ever, like somehow that makes everything peachy. IGN got their hands on what he told the staff. Apparently, the moves they make now are setting up the big wins for tomorrow. But I gotta wonder, is this just spin?
He goes on about making hard calls. It’s about maximizing the golden chances, he says, basically by focusing on what works and ditching the rest. But the folks getting pink slips? They’re not the problem, says Phil. It’s all strategy. However, lemme tell ya, it’s a bitter pill when your hard work ends in a thank-you wave from the door.
So yeah, sounds like this is how they plan to dish out killer games for who knows how long. But for now, a whole lotta people are feeling the sting, and that’s the real headline—not some honcho’s grand vision.
