Microsoft to lay off 1,900 employees in its gaming division

Microsoft will lay off roughly 1,900 people in its gaming division, according to a company memo seen by CNBC.

Microsoft will lay off roughly 1,900 people in its gaming division, according to a company memo seen by CNBC. The cuts come in conjunction with Blizzard president Mike Ybarra announcing he would depart the company as well.

In the memo, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that the layoffs were intended to minimize “areas of overlap.” NBC News has not reviewed the memo. 

In the memo, which was shared in full by CNBC, Spencer called the layoffs "painful."

"The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here," Spencer wrote.

The move comes just over three months after Microsoft closed its acquisition of video game giant Activision Blizzard, which is best known for the games Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, World of Warcraft and Spyro. Microsoft also owns Xbox.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/microsoft-lay-1900-employees-gaming-division-rcna135652

---