Another mass round of job cuts are set to hit Microsoft next week, with a large portion of those cuts coming within the Xbox gaming division.

Details at this point are scarce but Bloomberg is reporting “major layoffs” at Xbox according to their sources. While we typically don’t report on rumours, Bloomberg has a strong enough track record of vetting sources.

These cuts are part of a corporate wide restructuring as Microsoft will reportedly lay off some an undisclosed amount of employees across its businesses. What percentage of that comes from the Xbox division remains unclear.

Xbox Europe Taking The Brunt

According to The Verge these cuts seem to be mostly taking place in Europe. As Xbox begins to ramp up preparations for the next generation of Xbox consoles, they appear to be closing certain branches of their business in Europe.

What regions and what exactly that entails for the future remains to be seen. Xbox has continued to lag behind in Europe so it’s quite possible they think they don’t need multiple branches for each country. Could Xbox UK handle most of Europe on its own for instance? Or will shutting those areas down mean next-gen won’t even launch in those regions?

Latest Round Of Cuts

When these cuts take place next week it will be the second round of cuts just this month and fourth major job cut this year. Earlier this month Microsoft laid off 300 employees while in May they laid off 6,000. The first round took place back in January, though up until this point that was the only one affecting the gaming division.

All of this comes at a time when Xbox appears to be gaining some momentum. Earlier today they announced a partnership with Meta to create the Xbox Meta Quest 3. They also have the upcoming Xbox ROG Ally.

As always we wish anyone affected by this the best and hope they land elsewhere quickly.