What Microsoft has to say on job cuts at Call of Duty maker

Microsoft

recently announced that it is cutting 1900 jobs in its video games division, including in the teams of

Activision Blizzard

video game company that the company acquired in a $68.7 billion deal. The US Federal Trade Commission (

FTC

) complained to a federal appeals court about this layoff, saying the development contradicts its statement in court as it fought to acquire the Call of Duty maker. Microsoft has now responded by noting that Activision was already planning ‘significant’

layoffs

.
“Activision was already planning on eliminating a significant number of jobs while still operating as an independent company,” said Microsoft lawyers in a new filing.
The FTC, meanwhile, is appealing a district court’s decision not to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Here’s what Microsoft spokesperson Becca Dougherty said on the FTC’s filing:

In continuing its opposition to the deal, the FTC ignores the reality that the deal itself has substantially changed. Since the FTC lost in court last July, Microsoft was required by the UK competition authority to restructure the acquisition globally and therefore did not acquire the cloud streaming rights to Activision Blizzard games in the United States. Additionally, Sony and Microsoft signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation on even better terms than Sony had before.

Job cuts

at Microsoft gaming divisions
Employees in Microsoft's gaming division were told about a significant restructuring in late January, with CEO Phil Spencer announcing an 8% workforce reduction across three studios: Activision Blizzard, Xbox, and ZeniMax (acquired in 2021). This move marked the largest gaming industry layoffs in January, surpassing similar cuts at companies like Riot Games, Unity, Discord, and Twitch. Notably, Blizzard President Mike Ybarra and co-founder/chief design officer Allen Adham were also let go.
The job cuts impacted various departments within Activision Blizzard, including the esports division and Toys for Bob studio. Employees working on the unreleased "Odyssey" survival game, in development for six years, were also affected.