I took a mid-week holiday on Thursday in the delusional hope of celebrating England’s first World Cup final appearance in 60 years. Instead, I spent the day in silent mourning after we somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Does it still sting? Yes. Did wandering around Manchester’s scandi homeware stores and scoffing a chunky mortadella sarnie from my local Sicilian take the edge off? A little.
Usually, I’d try and draw parallels between a plucky England performance and the game industry’s ongoing battle against mass layoffs. There’s no chance of that this week. While the Three Lions wilted in the pressure chamber of Atlanta, Xbox workers continue to show strength and solidity in the face of adversity by fighting back against the thousands of job cuts across Microsoft.
Rallies were held in several locations this week, including Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, in protest of the cuts. Labor unions in Canada and the United States have also taken legal action against the Xbox maker for allegedly mishandling the layoff process. Many of those impacted by the decision to oust 3,200 employees before the end of the fiscal year have also spoken out anonymously to underline the scale of the challenge facing those who remain.
There’s plenty to chew on this week, so let’s get into it.
