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."

Comments

Re:So enlighten me please...

[SuiteSisterMary]

There is a term, I forget the Japanese spelling, but the translation is 'the beside the window tribe.' It refers to one who is given and office, with a window, where the individual will then sit, quietly, until retirement, looking out the window, never again given anything useful or important to do.

It's not Xbox Japan's fault it's not selling

[sandalwood]

Fair or not, I think this incident will further damage Microsoft's reputation as a game industry player in Japan. While a layoff handled like this may be common in the US, this incident was a newsmaker for Japan, and with good reason.

As an aside, I feel really sympathetic to all employees of Xbox Japan. They are basically trying to sell ice to Eskimos (the Xbox is *that* unsuited to the Japanese market), and it's not their fault they can't. It's the boneheads at Redmond designed the stupid thing, and yet these guys are taking the fall for it. How maddening that must be.