Microsoft announced Monday it is laying off approximately 4,800 employees — around 2 per cent of its global workforce — with the deepest cuts falling on its Xbox gaming division, where roughly 3,200 roles will be eliminated over the coming fiscal year. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the division's finances as "not healthy," with profit margins far below those of rivals, and said four game studios will be spun off or sold, while a fifth, Arkane (a French game developer known for titles such as Dishonored), faces a review that could result in closure. The restructuring is the latest in a series of major layoffs at Microsoft as the company redirects resources toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, with executives insisting the eliminated roles are not being directly replaced by AI.