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Xbox marketing on Microsoft's chopping block

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Chopping block xbox

We knew Microsoft would be cutting jobs again soon – it was part of the “money saving” expected after the merger with Nokia was completed. However, there are some unexpected cuts coming into play, and things don’t sound too great for employees of the company.

Reported by Bloomberg, the job cuts may be the largest restructuring the company has seen in years – possibly even bigger than the 5800 jobs slashed in 2009. Microsoft added about 30k jobs when it acquired Nokia’s mobile-phone business and they pledged $600 million in annual cost savings in the 18 months following the merger. However, rather than simply cutting jobs where the two companies overlap, it’s reported that some engineering teams will also be cut. Most interesting, the European Xbox team based in Reading, UK is also on the chopping block, particularly the marketing departments.

It’s always a sad story when people lose their jobs, however this one also points to some uncertainty about the Xbox brand. Why would they choose to hack and slash at the marketing department mere months before the console launches in a bunch of new territories? Surely they’d like the assistance at this time – won’t the more experienced marketers be able to ensure smooth PR during the launch window? Then again, marketing last year was such a mess for the Xbox brand that maybe they are culling those who were part of the problem. Still, the Xbox brand has never been as big in Europe as it is in the US, I wonder if Microsoft is shifting their focus towards countries that work instead of keeping up the pressure to try to be successful in other markets.

Have you guys pre-ordered your Xbox Ones? I kept hoping that E3 would be like the bad old days and I could walk out with my very own console, but that didn’t happen. I suppose if they need to cut costs and jobs, they can’t just give away the consoles any more. Here’s hoping that the restructuring brings about some better and clearer leadership for the brand – I think they deserve it.

Last Updated: July 15, 2014

24 Comments

  1. Rince&pop

    July 15, 2014 at 15:41

    What? Old experienced marketers that launched the Bone last year? 0-O

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      July 15, 2014 at 15:53

      Well it’s not like they were using them right?

      Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      July 15, 2014 at 16:21

      lol

      Reply

  2. Alien Emperor Trevor

    July 15, 2014 at 15:45

    Wow. I made the mistake of reading the comments on the Bloomberg link. I think I need to go to News24 to get clean again.

    Reply

    • Rince&pop

      July 15, 2014 at 15:48

      You went there?!

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      July 15, 2014 at 15:49

      Oh it’s not that bad, wait……. brown what???

      Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        July 15, 2014 at 15:51

        Ja swaar.

        Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      July 15, 2014 at 16:13

      Yeah, they make News24’s comment section look positively benign…. 😮

      Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    July 15, 2014 at 15:56

    Honestly I don’t have the cash, nor have I ever felt like buying the console just for Halo or even that “pull ideas out of a hat game” that is Sunset Overdrive. That and the constant fear of them doing a 180 would keep me up at night.

    Reply

  4. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    July 15, 2014 at 16:12

    No way in hell I’ll order a deboned boner.

    Reply

  5. iAmWeasel

    July 15, 2014 at 16:13

    Yo Pieter Kruger… where you at buddy? See this is what happens when free games are offered to customers. Despicable behavior I tell you… no way to run a business!

    Reply

  6. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    July 15, 2014 at 16:14

    By the way, NPD results should be out today. I’m anxiously waiting to see if the boner (sans kinect) was a deboned boner or a rigid salute to the sky gods.

    Reply

    • Not_true

      July 15, 2014 at 16:19

      It’s this thursday, not tuesday.

      Reply

      • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

        July 15, 2014 at 16:20

        What? It’s ONLY TUESDAY? AH COMEON!!!

        Reply

        • FoxOneZA

          July 15, 2014 at 16:22

          This isn’t Japan Jimmy 😛

          Reply

  7. FoxOneZA

    July 15, 2014 at 16:17

    It’s simple, the marketing of the console will be outsourced to a PR company like it’s done in S.A. for XBox and Nokia but hey news is news and no marketing team means no XBox ie. fanboi logix.

    Reply

    • Not_true

      July 16, 2014 at 04:07

      Cool strawman.

      Reply

  8. HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

    July 15, 2014 at 16:19

    MS is going balls to the wall with their server/cloud services business; can you really blame them growth in that department is astronomical. $50billion industry still growing at 3 figure percentile points. MS tied for 2nd place in the market (behind Amazon) but by far the fastest growing and if they use the rest of their product line they can take the number 1 spot.

    Reply

    • FoxOneZA

      July 15, 2014 at 16:22

      I was watching a video of a Lotus F1 car being designed using cloud power. For some it’s a joke, for those that use it, it’s a game changer in quick turn around times.

      Reply

      • HvR - Still dislikes Random.or

        July 15, 2014 at 16:25

        The way marketing guys (might be another reason for them getting the boot) is selling “cloud power” for real time applications in gaming but a lot of industries can and is making use of these cloud services.

        The way electronic banking is currently done will be impossible without the Amazon cloud services.

        Reply

      • iAmWeasel

        July 15, 2014 at 16:25

        Try driving said Lotus F1 car through cloud power… THAT is the joke.

        Reply

        • FoxOneZA

          July 15, 2014 at 16:26

          Try driving the 2014 Lotus F1 car. That is hideous.

          Reply

  9. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    July 15, 2014 at 16:19

    While I would never celebrate a bunch of people losing their jobs, a part of me would like to see Yusuf Mehdi gets the axe. Whenever that fool opens his mouth, I literally cringe. He has done enough damage to the xbox brand.

    http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4ab3b334fbf2e8115e1e360c/why-did-microsofts-yusuf-mehdi-just-meet-with-aols-tim-armstrong.jpg

    Reply

  10. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    July 15, 2014 at 16:24

    And Peter Moore rubs his hands as he cries “Soon Major Nelson, soon you can join me in EA! Muahahahah! Muahahahaha… My Larry… gollum gollum”

    Reply

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