If there’s one company we thought was safe, it’s Microsoft. But the American giant also seems affected by the global crisis and this unprecedented economic situation. In a press release published on Wednesday January 18, 2023, the Redmont firm announced a major social plan to lay off no less than 10,000 people by the end of March. This represents 5% of its workforce, knowing that the company is also seeking to save money by reducing the number of workspaces, but also by modifying its portfolio of IT equipment. It is through a letter addressed to employees and which has been made public that Satya Nadella, the boss of Microsoft, explains that while “customers have accelerated their IT spending during the pandemic”, they are now looking to optimize it to “do more with less”. He also points out that companies around the world are currently being “cautious” about the risks of recession as advances in artificial intelligence shake up the sector. ChapGPT obviously being the example it implies and which could well change the way of providing information in writing.
Bloomberg, through journalist Jason Schreier, argues that among these 10,000 people made redundant, a large number would be part of Bethesda Softworks but also 343 Industries, the studio which recovered the Halo license and which is struggling to convince with each new episode. Patrick Wren, former developer on the multiplayer part of Halo 5, also expressed himself on Twitter to explain that if Halo Infinite came out in a less than rosy state, it was because of the incompetence of the leaders, who would have caused enormous stress within the development team. In his article, Jason Schreier does not indicate the number of gaming people affected by this massive wave of layoffs, but warns that this economic social plan comes only a year after the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks, while Micosoft fights against winds and tides to validate the takeover of Activision-Blizzard. Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush, explains that Microsoft “will continue to spend strategically on cloud, mergers and acquisitions (Activision), betting on innovation (ChatGPT), and continue to accelerate on innovation while by reducing non-strategic areas (equipment, etc.)”. Not sure that this completely reassures investors, and even less detractors…