GoKawiil
Tech News
Publisher Future laid off its entire staff at Android Central, with at least four employees including managing editor Derrek Lee confirming the cuts publicly. A Future spokesperson told The Verge the site will keep publishing, relying on freelance contributors, though no details were given on future staffing plans.
New data shows U.S. tech sector layoff announcements rose in September, led by cuts at Uber Technologies, PayPal and Microsoft, even as overall U.S. layoff announcements declined for the month. Total tech industry job cuts for the year so far stand at 165,925.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills barring employers from basing termination or disciplinary decisions solely on AI, and requiring disclosure when AI triggers mass layoffs or relocations. The laws also ban surveillance tools in workplace bathrooms and prevent lawyers from fully outsourcing core legal work to AI systems. Newsom additionally signed an order mandating state agencies use the term 'artificial intelligence' rather than 'super intelligence.'
In an interview with The New York Times, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma stated plainly that 'Xbox is not for sale,' adding that Microsoft will pursue whatever partnerships or operating model changes are needed for long-term success. The comments follow a summer of heavy layoffs across Xbox, including the closure of Ninja Theory, the divestment of Double Fine, and the shutdown of Halo Studios with the franchise handed to Call of Duty's team.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told the New York Times that Microsoft is not selling Xbox, pushing back on earlier reports that CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood had weighed spinning off the gaming unit. Instead, Sharma says leadership backs her restructuring plan, which includes cutting up to 3,200 jobs by mid-2027, moving Halo and other studios under Activision, and streamlining Xbox Game Studios.
Disney has cut hundreds more jobs in its latest layoff round, marking the third such reduction since a new chief executive succeeded Bob Iger in March. Employees had reportedly been expecting the cuts before they were announced.
According to a Bloomberg report, incoming Apple CEO John Ternus wants the company to release products on a more frequent schedule than its traditional fall and spring events, and to move faster and experiment more to keep pace in AI. Bloomberg also reports Ternus is weighing flatter management layers, and that Apple's hardware engineering unit recently cut several engineering program manager roles, following earlier layoffs on the Siri and Vision Pro teams.
Microsoft has cut close to half the staff at World's Edge, the studio behind the Age of Empires franchise, as part of a reorganization placing it under Activision. Former employees say the studio's next project was canceled during the transition. The cuts are part of 268 job losses across Xbox, contributing to Microsoft's planned 3,200 layoffs this financial year.
Microsoft-owned King has agreed to a collective bargaining agreement covering its Swedish staff, signed with Unionen and Engineers of Sweden just a day before a planned strike. The deal, effective April 1, 2027, follows negotiations that began in May 2025 after King removed a private doctor benefit in 2024, prompting employees to unionize.
TechCrunch is selling a discounted $75 Expo+ Pass to its Disrupt 2026 conference for people who have been laid off, capped at the first 100 qualifying buyers or until the event opens on October 13 at 8 a.m. PT. The pass grants access to the Expo Hall at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13-15, where over 10,000 attendees and 300+ startups are expected.
Commentary on tech industry layoffs points to a broader trend: the US labor participation rate has dropped to levels last seen in the 1970s. Observers argue that the focus on layoff headlines obscures this larger shift, which they link partly to the growing use of AI in workplaces.
Microsoft laid off 268 employees across its gaming division this week and restructured major studios and franchises, including cutting most of Halo Studios' staff while keeping a small team to support existing titles like Halo Infinite. According to sources cited by the reporter, the next mainline Halo game was years from release, prompting Microsoft to shut it down rather than continue development.