Microsoft CEO says Xbox ‘streamlining’ is ‘nice to see’ following recent layoffs

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called the ongoing job cuts at Xbox “great to see,” commenting on the restructuring led by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma. The remark comes on the heels of Xbox’s latest layoffs, which cut an additional 268 jobs on top of the 1,600 cut earlier this year, part of a plan that has already consolidated studios, overhauled franchises like Halo, and pushed out several developers altogether. Nadella made the comment on the Sources podcast with Alex Heath during a broader interview about Xbox’s place within Microsoft. When asked about his feelings on the state and future of Xbox, Nadella said:

“I feel fantastic. The team is streamlining, and Asha is doing it, which is great to see. And then we have to invent the right sustainable business model that allows us to bring games to more and more people. That’s always been the goal, which is we want to be a great publisher and a great platform provider for PC and Xbox gaming.”

Calling the cuts “great to see” likely means very different things to the thousands of employees who actually lost their jobs this year and to Nadella’s position. Sharma defended the restructuring by pointing to Xbox’s margins, which she said are 3 to 10 times lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. Chief content officer Matt Booty said the company is now about three-quarters of the way through announced cuts, so more changes are apparently still in the works before the end of the financial year.