Per Bloomberg
Microsoft's 10,000 Employee Layoff Sees Massive Cuts in Gaming Division Handling the Development of Halo
1/19/2023
Microsoft has recently announced that it would be laying off 10,000 employees, representing just a little less than 5% of the company. Now, word has gone out regarding how the job cuts will affect the company's video-game division, specifically the developers of the beloved classic Halo.
The announcement of Microsoft comes shortly after the company announced it would be giving its employees unlimited time offs with ten corporate holidays, mental health time offs, sick leaves, and leaves of absence. The news says the company will spend $1.2 billion to let go of 10,000 employees.
This also comes at a time that the company is in talks of investing $10 billion with OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT AI tool. OpenAI is also popular for its Dall-E 2 tool, the AI image generator.
As the company is pushing through with its layoffs, one department that will be affected is the video-game division, with even the developers of Halo and Starfield no longer safe. Microsoft is the maker of Xbox and Halo is arguably one of its best games, even during the earlier days.
The layoffs will affect people at Bethesda Game Studios and 343 Industries. Bethesda Game Studios is still building the upcoming Starfield game, while 343 Industries is the 2021 Halo Infinite game developer.
Some individuals who lost their jobs were veterans with over a decade of experience working with Xbox, per anonymous sources. Pierre Hintze, head of 343 Industries, gave a statement regarding Microsoft's decision.
Hintze: “(Microsoft) made the difficult decision to restructure elements of our team, which means some roles are being eliminated.”
The layoff of developers comes a year after Microsoft's plan to buy Activision Blizzard Inc has not yet been approved. The deal remained stalemate as the US Federal Trade Commission is still investigating the possible acquisition.
So far, the deal is still pending regulatory approval, and there has not been much news of progress over a year after Microsoft expressed its intent.
See flow at unusualwhales.com/flow.
Other News:
- Microsoft Announces 10,000-Employee Layoff Shortly After News of Unlimited Time Offs
- Microsoft, MSFT, in talks to invest $10 billion with OpenAi.
Resources:
Moody’s downgrades US credit rating to Aa1 from Aaa
5/17/2025 4:55 AMYouTube, GOOGL, viewers will start seeing ads after ‘peak’ moments in videos
5/16/2025 7:55 PMCEOs say that just a fraction of AI initiatives are actually delivering the return on investment they expected
5/16/2025 7:51 PMOnly 9% of Americans have 10 times their annual income saved for retirement
5/16/2025 7:47 PM
Stay Updated
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest financial insights and news.
+With Unusual Whales
Get the best broker for options trading and earn Unusual Whales discounted! in cash with an eligible account deposit at tastytrade. Get an Unusual Whales bonus when you deposit $2000. Offer expires 3/31/25. Certain restrictions, terms and conditions apply.
Unusual Whales does not confirm the information's truthfulness or accuracy of the associated references, data, and cannot verify any of the information. Any content on this site or related pages are not intended to provide legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. Unusual Whales Inc. is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or any state securities regulatory authority. Nothing on Unusual Whales should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by Unusual Whales or any third party. Options, investing, trading is risky, and losses are more expected than profits. Please do own research before investing. Please only subscribe after reading our full terms and understanding options and the market, and the inherent risks of trading. It is highly recommended not to trade on this, or any, information from Unusual Whales. Markets are risky, and you will likely lose some or all of your capital. Please check our terms for full details.
Any content on this site or related pages are not intended to provide legal, tax, investment or insurance advice. Unusual Whales Inc. is not registered as a securities broker-dealer or an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or any state securities regulatory authority. Nothing on Unusual Whales should be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security by Unusual Whales or any third party. Certain investment planning tools available on Unusual Whales may provide general investment education based on your input. You are solely responsible for determining whether any investment, investment strategy, security or related transaction is appropriate for you based on your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances and risk tolerance. You should consult your legal or tax professional regarding your specific situation. See terms for more information.