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Microsoft Lays Off 34 Japanese Xbox Employees
Thanks to GameSpot for their article discussing the layoff of 34 Microsoft employees from its Japanese Xbox division. This accounts for just 17 percent of their Xbox workforce in Japan, but apparently the March 20th layoffs, documented in Nikkei BizTech, "..caused a commotion among the workers because of differences in business practices between Japan and the United States." The harsh 'escorted from premises' style of layoffs is not so common in Japan, according to the article, and so "..according to one of the employees who was cut, it felt as though they were treated like criminals." Needless to say, the layoffs, according to division head Par Singh, were because "sales of the Xbox in Japan had been extremely disappointing."
The Japanese way is not to lay off anyone. The company is your family and takes care of you througout life. As thanks for this you are loyal to your company and work good for it.
Laying off people the American Way makes people lose face, not very popular in Japan (or East Asia).
Never let anyone lose face, number one rule of social interaction in Japan.
...can be seen at IGN's monthly article "Gaming Life In Japan". Every month they release hardware and software sales for what are considered the major gaming consoles in Japan. Take a look at what was presented in June's article. The numbers are quite disturbing for Microsoft, though I'm sure that disappoints all the Open Source fans out there. ;)
Hardware Sales in Japan:
PS2: 44,300 (1,397,700)
Game Boy Advance SP: 31,800 (1,116,900 this year)
Game Boy Advance: 6,900 (890,800)
GameCube: 1,900 (284,800)
PSOne: 910 (42,800)
Xbox: 770 (58,00)
Swan Crystal: 320 (23,200)
I don't know which is funnier:
The fact that the PSOne outsold the Xbox during May, or the fact that this isn't the first time it has happened.
Here's a link to the actual article, but to give a fair warning, you have to be an IGN Insider to read it.