- Bayern hit nine, Real Madrid and Liverpool win as new Champions League kicks off
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- 'Happy' Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
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- Stylish Liverpool strut past Milan in confident Champions league opener
- Kane scores four as Bayern put nine past Zagreb in the Champions League
- Mbappe strikes on Madrid Champions League debut win over Stuttgart
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- Villa make perfect start on Champions League return after 41-year absence
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- Rodgers backs Celtic to be 'really competitive' in Champions League
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- Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
- Nine dead, 2,800 wounded as Lebanon's Hezbollah hit by pager blasts
- Boeing, union resume talks as strike empties Seattle plants
- Over 3,600 food packaging chemicals found in human bodies
- Australia's Zampa accepts Ashes chances remote as 100th ODI looms
- UN General Assembly debates call for end to Israeli occupation
- Marseille complete signing of French international Rabiot
- Easterby to fill in as Ireland coach while Farrell is with the Lions
- Hezbollah in Lebanon hit by wave of deadly pager blasts
- Postecoglou taken aback by criticism of his second season success claim
- US, European stocks rise on retail sales, rate cut expectations
- Fendi sees Roaring 20s at Milan Fashion Week in challenging times
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- Scottish government backs Glasgow to stage troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games
- Storm Boris toll rises to 21 in central Europe
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- US, European stocks rise on eve of Fed rate decision
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- US retail sales see slight rise, beating expectations
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- Exploding Hezbollah pagers wound hundreds across Lebanon
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- Sean 'Diddy' Combs to plead not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
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Microsoft cutting more jobs from its gaming unit
Microsoft is cutting about 650 more positions from its gaming unit as it continues to tighten its belt following the blockbuster buyout of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard.
The elimination of mostly corporate and support roles across Microsoft Gaming is intended to "organize our business for long-term success" in the aftermath of the $69 billion acquisition, unit chief Phil Spencer told employees in a memo viewed by AFP.
"Today is one of the challenging days," Spencer said in the memo. "I know that going through more changes like this is hard."
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) labor union, which includes members in the video game industry, called the layoffs "extremely disappointing," coming on the heels of Sony Interactive Entertainment subsidiary Bungie announcing 220 layoffs in July.
"Heartless layoffs like these have become all too common," World of Warcraft senior producer and CWA member Samuel Cooper said in a release by the labor organizers.
Microsoft in January said it was laying off 1,900 people, or eight percent of staff, from its gaming division as it consolidated the buyout of Activision Blizzard.
Spencer told employees at the time that Microsoft and Activision were committed to finding a "sustainable cost structure" to grow the gaming business, which employed 22,000 people and includes the Xbox division.
"Together, we've set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we're all aligned on the best opportunities for growth," he added in a memo at the time.
Microsoft launched its takeover in January 2022, an acquisition that made it the world's third-largest gaming company by revenue.
No games or devices are being cancelled, nor are any studios being closed as part of the "adjustments" made at Microsoft's gaming unit on Thursday, according to Spencer.
Layoffs have become common in the video game industry, with Sony PlayStation early this year announcing it was laying off eight percent of its global workforce.
Calling it "sad news," PlayStation chief Jim Ryan said that the reduction would affect 900 people across the globe, including video game-making studios.
The company's PlayStation London studio, which was founded in 2002 and specialized in virtual reality gaming projects, was being closed in its entirety, the company said.
In all, last year the tech industry lost some 260,000 jobs according to layoffs.fyi, a California-based website that tracks the sector.
So far this year, layoffs are at 136,360, the site showed, from 435 tech companies.
X.Karnes--AMWN