Xbox | Pakistan

Microsoft said Monday it was eliminating about 4,800 jobs — roughly 2 per cent of its global workforce — in a cost-cutting move that will deliver a sweeping restructuring of its struggling Xbox gaming division. The cuts include the deepest overhaul in Xbox’s history, with approximately 3,200 gaming jobs to be shed over the coming fiscal year, four game studios being spun off or sold, and a fifth entering a review process that could lead to closure, the company said. The announcement is the latest in a string of mass layoffs by the technology giant as it spends massive amounts of money to stay in the artificial intelligence race, with companies investing tens of billions of dollars in AI-ready data centres and computing power. “Our business is changing because the world around it is changing,” Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president, wrote in a memo to all employees. “Companies don’t get to choose whether their industry changes; they only get to choose whether they change with it.” Coleman said the l...

Microsoft on Friday put out word that Xbox stalwart Phil Spencer is retiring, in a shakeup of leadership at the tech titan’s video game unit. Former Instacart chief operating officer Asha Sharma will take over as head of Microsoft Gaming, with Matt Booty becoming executive vice president and chief content officer. “As we celebrate Xbox’s 25th year, the opportunity and innovation agenda in front of us is expansive,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a message to employees. “I am long on gaming and its role at the centre of our consumer ambition.” Changes to the gaming team include Sarah Bond leaving her job as Xbox president “to begin a new chapter” away from Microsoft, according to the company. Booty was previously president of game content and studios at Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn page. The shakeup comes as cloud computing and artificial intelligence have become priorities at Microsoft, driving revenue growth but also massive spending on infrastructure to power the technology. “When I...