Insert joke here about how Microsoft’s layoffs are reportedly so big, they’re impacting companies that aren’t even part of Microsoft. Oh wait, that actually might be what’s happening.
According to industry insider Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, Assembly, a PR agency whose biggest client is Microsoft, is laying off employees today.
In a post on Bluesky, Schreier says:
“The massive Xbox layoffs won’t happen until after the fiscal year ends, but the company is already ending contracts and cutting vendors. So Assembly, Xbox’s main PR agency, is laying people off today.”
Assembly appears to be responsible for quite a broad range of services, including media planning, communications, marketing research, and more. As for the full extent of its relationship with Microsoft, however, I couldn’t find much publicly available beyond the comment above from Schreier.
Xbox is, however, undergoing a significant restructuring as CEO Asha Sharma attempts to make the business more profitable. According to Schreier, Microsoft is ending contracts and cutting vendors, which appears to have resulted in Assembly laying off employees due to a reduction in business.
It’s hard to know what to say about layoffs, because I’m sure we can all agree they suck, regardless of the company involved. I genuinely hope those affected are able to land on their feet.
I’m also really curious to see what the next 100 days of Xbox look like. Rumors are everywhere at the moment, with recent reports even suggesting Undead Labs, the studio behind State of Decay 3, could be affected. If that were true, it would be a disastrous decision, especially considering the time and investment that’s reportedly gone into the game and just how promising it’s shaping up to be.
It’s an exhausting time to be a fan of anything lately; skyrocketing prices are sucking the joy out of what would otherwise be fun hobbies. It’s not to say that we can’t still enjoy things like gaming, but egregious prices certainly put a damper on things.
With all that said, let me know your thoughts in the comments, because I’m honestly just tired of all the negativity surrounding Xbox lately.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.