Earlier this week, Microsoft announced around 9,000 layoffs—many of which gutted teams and canceled games all over Xbox Game Studios—and it hasn’t gone over great with, well, anyone whose conscience is intact. The Communications Workers of America, a major media union with several locals within Microsoft, took the moment to address its disappointment with a formal statement.
“We are deeply disappointed in Microsoft’s decision to lay off thousands more workers, including union-represented CWA members, at a time when the company is prospering,” said Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr. “We will be bargaining with the company over these layoffs, and CWA District Vice Presidents Mike Davis and Derrick Osobase will remain directly involved in ensuring that our members are supported and treated with dignity throughout this process.”
Cummings went on to say “we are living through a moment of profound corporate consolidation and disruption,” noting that “union organizing … is essential to workers’ survival.” His accusation of corporate consolidation hardly seems unfair, given the $245 billion Microsoft accrued in revenue last year—a “record performance” for the company—and its near-$70 billion deal to acquire a gaming industry titan so large it tangled Microsoft up in a battle with the US Federal Trade Commission that took two years to resolve.
When Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Activision Blizzard, its relationship with the CWA looked surprisingly bright: The two came to a neutrality agreement in 2022 the CWA called “ground-breaking.” Since then, though, negotiations have stalled despite union after union continuing to form across Xbox studios. Layoffs and studio shutdowns have also come like clockwork, which is especially galling given the $79.1 million pay package awarded to CEO Satya Nadella in October 2024.
Read our full statement below.
— @codecwa.bsky.social (@codecwa.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-04T18:33:15.348Z
It all feels a bit like the C-suite are disconnected from reality, given that one of the canceled games was apparently so amazing Xbox boss Phil Spencer could barely put it down. It’s yet more evidence that even outrageous success isn’t enough to safeguard anyone actually doing the work of making videogames. Those developers have spent the week mourning the lost jobs and the growth-addicted industry that led this.
Time will tell how CWA’s bargaining shapes the affected workers and Microsoft’s future plans. Cummings didn’t announce any specific measures in response to the layoffs in his statement, but he did call on organized laborers to stick together at critical times like these.
“This news will not slow the movement for a video game industry that works for those who make it what it is today. Our strength is in our unity.”
