Apparently, the staff reduction was already planned by Activision Blizzard itself
Join the conversation
Yesterday we told you that the FTC had sued Microsoft again (yes, again). Now due to the layoffs that the company made at Activision, claiming that this is not what had been discussed in court and that those responsible for sagas like Call of Duty would not be operating independently. Given this, Microsoft has defended itself and confirms that Activision Blizzard had already thought about this reduction in staff and that they do continue to work independently.
During the month of January we showed you that the Redmond company had laid off 1,900 employees, including people who worked at Activision and Blizzard. Well, the FTC did not like this and Microsoft has come out to explain the reason for this workforce reduction. If you remember the multiple lawsuits that occurred with this gigantic purchase by the Xbox company, one of them stated that Activision would continue to operate independentlysomething the FTC doubts after these layoffs.
Microsoft responds to the FTC
All this information has been seen in the letter that the company has sent to the Cortes. That’s where Microsoft explains in detail that Absolutely nothing that they said in the trials has been breached. and of course, Activision Blizzard continues to work independently. Just below these lines we summarize the most important part of the declaration so that you can read for yourself everything they have declared.
The FTC’s factual statements are incomplete and misleading. In line with broader trends in the video game industry, Activision was already planning to cut a significant number of jobs while continuing to operate as an independent company. Therefore, the recent announcement cannot be fully attributed to the merger.
As you have been able to read, the statements are concise and do not give rise to misinterpretation. If the FTC has highlighted something during the entire Activision Blizzard purchase process, it is that day in and day out have tried to block this operationOf course, without any success. The reasons she offered for this were rather insignificant and in the end she was the only one who did not agree, since this would supposedly give rise to a monopoly for Microsoft and Xbox.
Even after the purchase was made official and both companies joined together, the Federal Trade Commission continued trying to undo the union. Once again, without any success. It is not clear whether on this occasion this complaint is plausible or simply another crude attempt to try to break this union, what is clear is that Microsoft knows how to do things very well and most likely it will the FTC does not cause any problems for Redmond.
Join the conversation