Report: Microsoft Lays Off All Xbox R&D Staff In China

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Xbox One Retail

As part of the third round of layoffs Microsoft announced last week, several employees from various divisions of Microsoft were fired. Xbox Entertainment Studio was completely shut down and its senior leadership members were also shown the door. Latest report from Shenzhen Business News reveals that Microsoft has dismissed more than 80 employees at its Xbox research and development (R&D) department in China.

This Microsoft hardware team was established in Shenzhen in 2005 focused on Xbox R&D, Surface R&D and Manufacturing R&D. These employees were fired without any prior notice. On Thursday morning, Xbox Division Vice President and General Manager announced that due to business reasons Microsoft has decided to shutdown Xbox R&D in China and pulling it back to the US.

Here is an excerpt from the report (machine translated),

According to the employee revealed that the Xbox game development department, there are about more than 80 people, including a dozen Taiwan and Singapore, and Malaysia foreign workers. The sector employs about fifty or sixtythirdparty service companies to send contract workers. A lot of people still working overtime last night, this morning, gate card doesn’t work, can’t come through. These third parties sending contract workers to the afternoon‘s card was taken away.
The employee revealed that the company opened fired on the condition that according to HR Shenzhen month 3 times the average wage of fully employed staff compensation, if the signed termination contracts now, you can receive 1month compensation. If you do not check, Microsoft legal staff will talk to employees of the Department, in accordance with Chinese law. He complained that it came so suddenly, without any buffering opportunities. He said other foreign companies such as Cisco, Nokia has cut, but compensation is in accordance with the employees monthly pay double and redouble. He paid more than 20,000 yuan a month, while the average monthly wage of fully employed staff in Shenzhen for 5218. He said, we don’t agree with, nor did he sign a contract.

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via: ZDNet Source: SZNews

More about the topics: china, development, Layoffs, microsoft, R&D, xbox