Microsoft to go into layoff mode again, Xbox and Sales hit 4th time in 18 months
According to a report by Bloomberg, the latest layoff will affect thousands of employees, with Microsoft's Xbox and Global Sales divisions mostly taking the heat.
The company managers are buzzing that this will be a 'substantial' round of reductions. This will be the fourth layoff round in the company in just 18 months, especially for Xbox and the Global Sales and Marketing divisions.
Ever since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for a whopping $69 billion in 2023, the pressure on Xbox to perform has been enormous. Expectations have been high since the big acquisition, with the company needing more profits from what was called its growth engine. The previous rounds of layoffs have already impacted Xbox the most.
Microsoft laid off 1,900 employees from the gaming division in January last year. Then, in September 2024, another 650 were let go. The tech giant has also closed several studios, including Tango Gameworks, best known for Hi-Fi Rush. Even Arkane Austin, the team behind Redfall, was also let go.
Microsoft's Xbox division is developing its next-generation console in partnership with AMD, and reports suggest the restructuring is intended to prepare the division for that goal.
According to a report by The Verge, the company is 'restructuring Xbox distribution across central Europe,' with some operations. The sales team also hit
Microsoft's sales and marketing team, one of its largest divisions with around 45,000 staff, will also see heavy reductions in workforce. The company has already slashed 6,300 jobs in two phases in just the last month.
These layoffs are part of a strategy to flatten the company's management structure and cut administrative overhead. Microsoft previously confirmed that it plans to eliminate around 3 per cent of its global workforce of 228,000 employees this year.
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India Today
23 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump orders firing of labour stats chief after weak July jobs report release
Trump fires Bureau of Labour Statistics Comissioner Erika McEntarfer (Photo:Reuters) Accuses her of faking July jobs data, demands immediate replacement Claims lack evidence, BLS denies data manipulation allegations Concerns rise over data quality amid mass federal layoffs US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) ordered that the commissioner of the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics Erika McEntarfer be fired after data showed weaker-than-expected employment growth in July and massive downward revisions to the prior two months' job counts. McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve in the role in 2023 and was confirmed by the US Senate the following year. It was not immediately clear whether McEntarfer, whom Trump accused of faking the jobs numbers, had been fired. Trump took to his Truth Social account to inform about McEntarfer's firing. Trump announced the firing of McEntarfer over his Truth Social account Trump lambasted McEntarfer and accused her of producing fake job numbers. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," Trump said. There is no proof that supports Trump's accusations about the BLS tampering with data. The BLS is the statistical agency responsible for creating the employment report, which is closely followed, as well as data on consumer and producer prices. The White House did not respond immediately to questions about Trump's post. ACCUSATIONS As per Reuters, Trump acccused McEntarfer of putting out the job numbers before the elections to help Democrats. The order to dismiss McEntarfer comes at a time when the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal government workers have raised concerns about the quality of US economic data, long seen as the gold standard. Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' After his initial post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded two expert committees that worked with the government to produce economic statistics. Lutnick has also floated the idea of stripping out government spending from the gross domestic product report, claiming "governments historically have messed with GDP." ECONOMISTS' OVERVIEW The BLS has already reduced data collection for the consumer price data as well as the producer price report. Economists attributed the sharply slower job growth to Trump's trade and immigration policies. The economy created only 73,000 jobs in July. Data for May and June were revised sharply down to show 258,000 fewer jobs created than had been previously reported. As per a report by CNBC, Laura Ulrich, director of economic research for North America at job site Indeed said that the July figure suggests the job market isn't keeping pace with population growth, and is therefore contracting. With inputs from agencies. US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) ordered that the commissioner of the Labour Department's Bureau of Labour Statistics Erika McEntarfer be fired after data showed weaker-than-expected employment growth in July and massive downward revisions to the prior two months' job counts. McEntarfer was nominated by former President Joe Biden to serve in the role in 2023 and was confirmed by the US Senate the following year. It was not immediately clear whether McEntarfer, whom Trump accused of faking the jobs numbers, had been fired. Trump took to his Truth Social account to inform about McEntarfer's firing. Trump announced the firing of McEntarfer over his Truth Social account Trump lambasted McEntarfer and accused her of producing fake job numbers. "We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified," Trump said. There is no proof that supports Trump's accusations about the BLS tampering with data. The BLS is the statistical agency responsible for creating the employment report, which is closely followed, as well as data on consumer and producer prices. The White House did not respond immediately to questions about Trump's post. ACCUSATIONS As per Reuters, Trump acccused McEntarfer of putting out the job numbers before the elections to help Democrats. The order to dismiss McEntarfer comes at a time when the Trump administration's mass layoffs of federal government workers have raised concerns about the quality of US economic data, long seen as the gold standard. Trump later posted: 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.' After his initial post, Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director. 'I support the President's decision to replace Biden's Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,' Chavez-DeRemer said. Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded two expert committees that worked with the government to produce economic statistics. Lutnick has also floated the idea of stripping out government spending from the gross domestic product report, claiming "governments historically have messed with GDP." ECONOMISTS' OVERVIEW The BLS has already reduced data collection for the consumer price data as well as the producer price report. Economists attributed the sharply slower job growth to Trump's trade and immigration policies. The economy created only 73,000 jobs in July. Data for May and June were revised sharply down to show 258,000 fewer jobs created than had been previously reported. As per a report by CNBC, Laura Ulrich, director of economic research for North America at job site Indeed said that the July figure suggests the job market isn't keeping pace with population growth, and is therefore contracting. With inputs from agencies. Join our WhatsApp Channel
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Airbus Said to Deliver Fewer Aircraft in July Amid Engine Woes
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Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Now thats a reality check
ORLANDO, Florida, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Making sense of the forces driving global markets By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist I'd love to hear from you, so please reach out to me with comments at . You can also follow me at @ReutersJamie and @ Well, well, well. In a week jam-packed with global tariff, earnings, data and policy fireworks, the most explosive was kept for last: July's U.S. employment report, which shattered the optimism - or complacency - building around the U.S. economy and stock market. Weak job growth, together with the latest wave of steep tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, triggered a huge selloff in global stocks and the dollar on Friday, floored bond yields, and revived expectations of a Fed rate cut next month. * Dollar index snaps six-day winning streak and slumps more than 1%, its biggest fall since April. Dollar/yen plunges 2.2%, biggest fall since January 2023. * S&P 500 slides 1.6%, biggest decline since May, as profit-taking sets in after new highs this week. Nasdaq slumps 2.2% - is tech topping out? * U.S. 2-year bond yield tumbles 26 bps, the biggest fall in a year and akin to an instant quarter-point rate cut. * Crude oil futures fall nearly 3%. * Comex copper steadies on Friday but plunges 24% this week, its worst ever week since futures contracts launched in 1988. Now that's a reality check Global markets were floored on Friday by a powerful one-two punch from the latest U.S. employment data and U.S. tariffs slapped on dozens of countries. It was a sobering reminder that the economic foundations supporting Wall Street's record highs this week may not be that strong. The weak jobs growth seemed to fly in the face of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's assessment on Wednesday that the labor market is strong, and vindicate the two dissenters, Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. Although to be fair to Powell, he did stress that downside risks were growing. Yet average earnings and hours worked rose in July, and the unemployment rate only inched up to 4.2%. That's effectively still full employment. If the bar to cutting rates is tied to the unemployment rate, it is still a high one. Rates futures traders don't see it that way though. They now see a rate cut next month as a near-certainty, and are pricing in 60 basis points of easing by year-end. Investors were also sideswiped on Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs on 69 trading partners, ranging from 10% to 41%, that will start in a week's time. This will raise the U.S. effective tariff rate closer to 20%, nearly 10 times higher than the end of last year. Of course, bilateral trade deals could be struck and these levies may be lowered, but it is a reminder that the growth and inflation outlook is challenging at best. With equity prices and optimism around Big Tech at such lofty levels, the correction when it came was always likely to be big. If that wasn't enough for investors to digest, Trump announced late on Friday he is firing the commissioner of the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics following the latest jobs data, and Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said she is resigning effective August 8 and returning to academia. This paves the way for Trump to appoint someone more aligned with his low interest rate view as her replacement. So the new trading month kicks off with world markets on a shaky footing, and the economy too. Asia's factory activity is deteriorating as tariff uncertainty weighs, and U.S. manufacturing is still in a funk. European factory activity is moving closer to stabilization, but is still contracting. Services, tech and AI-related activity and indicators are shining brighter of course, but even there caution will be creeping into investors' minds. Earnings reports from Apple, Microsoft and Meta were well-received by the market, to put it mildly, but the Nasdaq still shed nearly 2% on the week. August is the main summer holiday month in Europe and North America, so liquidity will thin out. With the VIX index back above 20.0 for the first time since April, trading next week could be choppy. If you want evidence that Trump's tariffs on the rest of the world are starting to push up U.S. goods inflation, look no further. According to Ernie Tedeschi at the Budget Lab at Yale, PCE durable goods prices in the first six months of the year rose 1.7%. Excluding the pandemic, that's the biggest six-month rise since 1987. Here are some of the best things I read this week: 1. Brics currencies are no realistic alternative to the dollar - Herbert Poenisch 2. Europe's Economic Surrender - Alberto Alemanno 3. U.S.-EU Trade Deal Avoids a Tariff War, but Deepens European Dependence - Matthias Matthijs 4. China is also Fighting a Trade War with Europe (and Winning) - Brad Setser 5. Trump's executive orders politicize AI - Tom Wheeler What could move markets on Monday? * U.S. durable goods (June) Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Trading Day is also sent by email every weekday morning. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. (Writing by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams)
